The Will to Live
by fandomismylife
Summary: In a world filled to the brim with the undead, William Parker has been searching tirelessly for the only family he has left, his sister Lucy. As it starts to seem less likely that his sister is alive, will he finally lose all hope of ever having a family again, or will a chance encounter with a sheriff finally give Will the will to live again? (ON HIATUS)
1. Chapter 1 - The Will to Live

**Update: I've decided to shorten the episode 1 chapter into three separate parts, on** _thewalkerinme_ **'s suggestion, and because after reading it myself, I realise it is a lot to read, especially when the story is only just starting.**

 **This chapter will be more to just introduce Will, so expect a lot of writing and describing of his surroundings, since he won't be meeting anyone until the end of this chapter.**

 **This story starts from Season 1, Episode 4 'Vatos'...**

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Just keep running. Just keep running. Those were the only three words running through Will's mind as he ran down the street, never looking over his shoulder to check his pursuers were still behind him. Even if he had only been running for around ten minutes, Will felt like he had been running for longer, like he might never stop running ever again. Will's full name was William Parker, aged 16, average height, brown hair with fading blonde streaks, emerald green eyes, and a slight bit of muscle to his slender build, all mashed together to make your typical teenage boy. Unfortunately, his life was nowhere near typical, especially when he's just one of many that is stuck in the middle of an apocalypse, with the walking dead roaming around every corner. As much as he disliked the life he was forced into before the world turned to shit, Will knew that he would give anything to have even a sliver of the life he knew before, back when his family was still alive.

Now, all he had left of his life was his uncle's jacket, and the metal baseball bat he got during his first game, sticking out of his bag, both seeming plain and boring to any other person, but seeming like prized possessions to Will, who had nothing else left. He may not have had his parents in his life anymore, but he at least had other relatives, like his uncle, who happily took him in when he had no one left. His grandparents, who had never stopped being there for him, especially when he and his sister had lost both of their parents in a matter of minutes. And, most importantly, his sister, Lucy, who was the main reason Will had come back to be in Atlanta in the first place. Before the world became what it was, Will was living with his uncle in a small town, about a day's drive away from the city of Atlanta, working in his uncle's mechanic to earn his keep. Since they had known at the time his grandparents would never have been able to take care of both of them, Will chose to leave, so that Lucy didn't have to leave her life behind, since Will was more likely to adapt to a new situation. When the world had started to take a turn for the worst, and he had lost his uncle, Will knew that, the only option he had left, was to go back to Atlanta to find his sister, so he could take care of her himself. And that's how he had ended up back in the city he had grown up in, to start the search for his sister and grandparents, so he could protect them all.

That was two weeks ago.

Now, the longer he stayed in the city, looking tirelessly to find his sister, the more he started to think about whether he should just give up and move on. For all he knew, his sister and grandparents had already moved on, having moved on when the streets had been blown up, when the undead had spread like wildfire. For all he knew, something much worse could've happened, they could've died, killed by bandits or the undead, or worse, they could be roaming around somewhere, being just a couple of rotting bodies among crowds of the undead, all waiting for their next meal. As much as he wanted to stay and to find his sister and grandparents, the only family he had left, he knew that, sooner or later, he'd have to make a plan to move on, to where, he had no clue whatsoever.

Will finally stopped at the corner of a street to catch his breath, leaning up against the side of one of the many office buildings in the city, as he looked back the way he came, not seeing any of the undead he had been running from following him. Even if they weren't visible to the naked eye at that current moment, Will knew they would be hiding somewhere, waiting for the slightest noise to be heard, to come out of hiding, like a dinner bell calling the whole family to their next meal. Will dropped his bag to the ground and opened it up, pulling the bat out of his bag to place on the ground, while he pulled out his bottle of water, which had around a mouthful left. With a small sigh, he screwed the lid off of the bottle, finished off the last of his water, and put the lid back on, slipping the bottle back into his bag for later use. After zipping his bag back up and lifting his bat off of the ground, Will got to his feet and continued down the street, deciding to slow to a walk for now, until he had no choice but to run once more. While walking down the street at a leisurely but cautious pace, Will looked up at the buildings around him, always managing to be surprised that there was so little damage to the buildings, yet somehow everything on the ground was burned beyond belief or still smelt like smoke. He had remembered seeing a news report before he made his way down to Atlanta about the military dropping napalm bombs on the city to clear out the undead, a method that definitely didn't work in anyone's favour.

Before long, Will stopped in front of a tall apartment building, taking a few moments to stare up at the many windows above him, before walking through the front doors, keeping his bat tightly in his grip. Taking cautious steps through the lobby, Will looked around the large room closely, making sure there weren't any of the undead waiting around the corner for him, having come in since his last visit. When he was sure there were none around, Will jogged over to the nearby emergency staircase and pushed the door opened, holding onto the door until it was safely shut, making sure it made no noise, before running up the stairs. He soon reached his desired floor and opened the door carefully, looking through to make sure the coast was clear, before continuing on his way, soon reaching his destination, his grandparents' apartment. He pushed the door open and quickly closed it behind him, making sure to lock the door before moving further inside. After throwing his bag and bat onto the nearby table, Will walked over and flopped down on the couch, finally being able to rest after a long day of running through the city. He soon drifted off to sleep, his eyes quickly drooping shut until he was dead to the world, exhaustion having finally taken over him, allowing him to have some much needed rest.

The next thing he knew, Will opened his eyes to complete darkness, the sun having vanished from the sky since he had drifted off to sleep. Sitting up in his seat, he leaned over towards the nearby coffee table and switched on the lantern, lifting it up to bring to the kitchen with him, so he could find himself some food. Opening the cupboards, Will pulled out what little food he had left, which included an unopened pack of beef jerky, and a few tomatoes from the plant growing on the windowsill, along with a few stored bottles of water, enough to last him another couple of days. Looking at the pitiful amount of provisions he had left, Will knew that he didn't have much choice but to think about moving on, it was just the where he was going he had to figure out. While nibbling on some jerky, Will walked into another room, the one his sister used, and sat on the bed, thinking about his next move. There really wasn't any places Will could think of that Lucy and his grandparents might go, so the only thing he could think of doing was finding a little more supplies, maybe grabbing some other weapons, and moving on out of the city. All he could do was travel to somewhere that might have other people, since there seemed to be very little chance of finding other people still in Atlanta, and try to survive the best he could, hoping for the chance to maybe see his sister again. So that was the plan, at least, the best plan he could make, given his current situation, and the amount of unknowns he still needed to think about. When the morning finally rolled around, he would collect what little he had, go out to find more supplies and weapons, choose a direction, and start walking, in the hopes of running into something other than the undead on his trip. With his plan decided, Will fell back onto the bed and let himself fall asleep once more, trying to get as much energy into him before the next day's events.

A few hours later, Will was awake and moving around the apartment, packing away the last of his food and water into his bag, pulling out one of the knives in the drawers to pair with his bat as weapons. After packing the last of his items away, a flashlight and a lighter, Will zipped up his bag and hefted it onto his back, keeping his bat in hand and his knife in his jeans pocket, ready to get moving. Before leaving, he looked around the room, taking in every inch of it, not wanting to forget any of a small part of his life, having been a place he visited a lot during his childhood. Soon, he turned away and made his way to the front door, stopping at a side table near the front door full of photos. He looked over all of them, seeing ones of his parents when they were younger, his grandparents, aunts and uncle, and his sister, all the members of his family, on a small surface of hardwood. He picked up one of the photos and smashed it against the table, pulling out a photo of his sister and mother, smiling at it before folding it up and slipping it into his back pocket, finally feeling ready to leave. He carefully opened the front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him, so that nothing could come in and ruin what was left of his old life. He quickly moved down the hall and onto the staircase, moving as fast as he could down to the lobby, being careful not to trip on his way down. Upon reaching the bottom floor, he did the same as he had the day before, carefully opening the door to make sure it didn't make any noise, before moving out into the lobby, scanning the area for any movement, before stepping out and quietly closely the door behind him.

Not wanting to waste any time, Will quickly moved over to the front doors of the building and stepped outside, scanning the street before he started to jog along the sidewalk, in a different direction to the previous day. Having decided that morning where he was going to head when he was packing up his belongings, Will moved along the streets at a brisk jog, making his way to the tank the military left behind when they attempted a ground assault on the undead. Since it was an area he hadn't visited much since returning to Atlanta, Will hoped that he might be able to find any leftover supplies that wasn't taken by the people who used to live there, or any bandits that probably went through there when people cleared out. After running through an alley that led out onto the street containing the tank, he noticed something that hadn't been there the last time he was. There, sitting in the middle of the road as the undead shuffled around the area, was a large duffel bag of guns, just waiting for someone to pick them up. Although Will didn't like to use guns, or even touch them for that matter, he knew he had to take whatever he could to survive, even if it meant going against his own rules. So, after making sure there were no undead approaching the bag, Will quickly bolted out of the alley and ran for the bag, noticing some movement up ahead, something that was moving faster than the undead usually would. As he moved closer to the bag, he saw someone living, a man who seemed to be of Asian origin, jump over the nearby barrier to start moving towards the weapons as well. Not wanting to lose his chance, Will quickened his pace and reached the bags first, lifting them from the ground before the man reached them.

"Hey, those aren't yours," the man growled quietly, moving to try and take the bag from Will, who pulled it out of the man's reach before he could grab it.

"Well unless you were stupid enough to leave your own bag of guns just lying in the street, I highly doubt they belong to you either," Will snapped, turning around to run, only to almost run into some of the undead, that were making their way towards the two boys.

"Just give me the guns, and I'll let you go," the man said, backing away from the approaching dead behind Will.

"Help me get away from these things, and I'll only take a couple and be out of your hair," Will told him, backing up to stand beside the man.

"Deal." With that, the pair turned around and ran away, the man turning back to pick up what looked like a sheriff's hat, before the pair moved past the tank to go onto another street, hearing some screaming in a nearby alley, which the man started running towards. Will tried his best to keep up, the weight of the bag in his hands slowing him down as he arrived in the nearby alley a few seconds after the man, seeing two other men beating up one that was keeled over on the ground. When the two men noticed Will and the Asian guy standing nearby, they both looked down at the bag in Will's hand, their eyes filling with anger and surprise.

"That's it, That's it. That's the bag, vato. Take it! Take it!" the one with the bat shouted, the bald man running at the pair to grab the bag. Before he could reach Will, the Asian man jumped at him and pushed him away, stopping him from reaching Will, the guy with the bat moving to help the bald man. With an exasperated sigh, Will threw the bag to the side and shifted his bat to his right hand, running at the three men to hit the man with his own bat. Having seen him coming, he quickly dodged Will's swing and shoved him away, knocking Will into the brick wall while the bald man continued beating the Asian man up, until he started screaming. Will looked at him and realised there was an arrow now protruding out his ass, having been shot by the man they were previously beating up, a crossbow in his hands as he loaded another arrow. Before Will could get up to help again, the man with the bat grabbed the Asian man and held him back with his bat, the sound of wheels squealing against the road as a car pulled up. The pair quickly pulled the Asian man away towards the car, stuffing him inside before getting in themselves, the car pulling away before either Will or the man with the crossbow could stop them.

"Come back here, you sons of bitches!" the man with the crossbow shouted, running to start banging his fists up against the metal fence, as the undead slowly started to approach the alley they were occupying, having been attracted by all the shouting. He quickly pulled it shut to stop them from going anywhere, while Will got to his feet, realising there was someone else in the alley with them, a boy that seemed to be around Will's age, getting to his feet to try running away. Before he had a chance to, two other men started running down the alley towards them, the man with the crossbow running over to stop the boy, roughly throwing him up against the wall in his anger.

"Woah woah woah, stop it," one of the other men shouted, his clothes indicating that he might be the sheriff of a town somewhere.

"I'm going to kick your nuts up in your throat. They took Glenn, this little bastard and his little bastard homie friends. I'm gonna stomp your ass!" the man with the crossbow shouted, trying to push past the sheriff to get at the boy, who looked scared out of his wits.

"Guys, guys, we're cut off," the other man said, pointing back to the undead banging against the fence, their numbers having swelled since Will's arrival.

"Get to the ladder, go!" the sheriff shouted, turning his attention to Will who was still standing nearby, gripping his bat tightly as the sheriff and the guy with the crossbow stared at him.

"What do we do about him?" the latter asked, looking Will up and down, before turning his attention back to the sheriff.

"We'll take him with us, he might know who those people were," the sheriff replied, walking over to grab the bag of guns and the hat, while the man with the crossbow gestured for Will to get moving. Reluctantly, Will started jogging away from the fence, moving to reach the nearby ladder, climbing away from the nearby groaning to safety.

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 **Welcome welcome welcome everyone, to my new fanfic,** _The Will to Live_ **, with my new OC, William Parker.**

 **Since it's the start of the story, and Will's introduction, it's mostly just describing his own, personal situation, where he sort of came from and what he is doing in Atlanta in the first place. I'm hoping chapters will start to be a little longer than this, probably around 3000 words or so, so I don't waste too many chapters on episodes.**

 **I've been wanting to write this story for a very long time, since The Walking Dead is my favourite show, and has been since it started all those years ago. After planning out basically everyone single episode, and seeing the most recent ones, I finally decided to was time to start work on this, so I can share my love of TWD dead with all of you guys, fellow fans of the zombie apocalypse.**

 **Why did you guys think of the first chapter? Did you like Will? His back story, which I will expand on a little as the story progresses? Any comments or questions will be greatly appreciated, feedback is what keeps amateur writers like myself. I plan to hopefully keep posting either way, but some helpful criticism and nice comments inbetween would be an added bonus to being able to share this with someone.**

 **Can't wait to share this journey with all of you.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, can't wait to hear from you all.**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Helping Hand

A few minutes after the group had made it up the ladder and inside the building, Will sat apart from the other men, staring at them as they looked through Will's bag, the man with the crossbow keeping watch other Will and the other boy. When they had finished their search, the sheriff and the black guy stepped over to them, the former leaning up against the table behind him.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they went," the sheriff asked the boy, only glancing at Will once before he spoke.

"I ain't telling you nothing," the boy said, glaring up at the sheriff, refusing to talk.

"Jesus, man. What the hell happened back there?" the black guy asked the man with the crossbow, having sat down behind a nearby table.

"I told you, this little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me," the man with the crossbow replied angrily, pacing backward and forward behind the sheriff.

"Man, you're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault," the boy snapped, biting his nails, seeming to show the nervousness he hadn't shown before.

"They took Glenn. Could have taken Merle too," the man with the crossbow said, shifting his gaze angrily between the boy and Will, like the pair were somehow in cahoots.

"Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle," the boy smirked, angering the man with the crossbow enough that he started to make a beeline for him. Before he could take a swing at him, the sheriff stepped in his path and held him back, the man with the crossbow kicking out in his arms as he's pushed away.

"Damn it, Daryl. Back off," the sheriff snapped, pushing Daryl further away. Will had to admit, it was nice to be able to stop calling him 'the man with the crossbow', Daryl was much easier to remember.

"I'd just like to point out now that I don't know this guy, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Will tried to explain, bowing his head down when the sheriff gave him a slightly angered look.

"You can talk when I ask you to," the sheriff snapped, while Daryl walked over to the nearby backpack, to pull out something bundled in what looked a do-rag.

"Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" he asked as he unwrapped the do-rag, throwing its contents onto the boy's lap. It took a few seconds for both Will and the boy to realise what it was, a severed hand, making the boy jump out of his seat to get away from it, while Will just tried to hold back the little bit of vomit rising up in his throat. Never missing a beat, Daryl walks over to the boy, now on the ground, and grabs him by the shoulder and neck, getting right in the boy's face.

"Start with the feet this time," Daryl threatened, gripping the boy tightly before the sheriff pulled him off again, moving him out of the way, so he could question the boy himself.

"The men you were with took our friend. All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out," the sheriff told the boy, kneeling down in front of him. The boy looked between the sheriff and Daryl, seeming to weigh his options, before he finally relented, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Ok, I'll take you to them," he said, slumping back against the wall, while the sheriff stood back on his feet, turning his attention to Will, who looked back at him in slight fear.

"What about you, are you one of them as well?" he questioned, walking over to stand in front of Will, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, of course not, I haven't seen any of you guys before now, let alone any of his guys. I just happened to see the bag of guns lying out in the road, ripe for the picking, when your friend Glenn appeared, trying to get the guns too. I tried to help, but obviously it didn't go very well," Will replied, looking to Daryl for confirmation, having been the only other person in the alley that could confirm his story.

"It's true, he took a swing at one of those guys," Daryl admitted reluctantly, leaning up against the table nearby to restring his crossbow, watching the conversation closely.

"So you have nothing to do with any of this, you're just a harmless bystander?" the sheriff questioned sceptically, watching Will closely.

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time that's all. I just wanted to defend myself," Will told him, hoping they would believe him enough to let him off the hook. The sheriff stared at Will for a few seconds, locking their gazes for a while, before nodding his head, turning to look at his two companions.

"We should get moving, don't want to leave Glenn hanging for too long," he announced, gesturing for Daryl to collect the boy, before stepping away to collect his stuff.

"Wait, I want to help," Will said, jumping up from his seat to follow them, picking up his own belongings.

"No offence kid, but you don't exactly look like the most capable type," Daryl almost laughed, picking up the backpack he had been rooting around in before, looking to the sheriff for confirmation.

"It's too dangerous for someone so young," the sheriff agreed, watching Will with slight interest.

"And you think it would be safer for me to run around the streets of Atlanta all by myself?" Will questioned, getting the sheriff's attention.

"It couldn't hurt to take him along," the black guy admitted, pushing the boy in front of him to stand beside the sheriff, who seemed to be thinking things over.

"I just want to help you get your friend back, it's the least I can do for not being able to stop him from getting taken," Will practically begged, looking around at the three men in front of him desperately.

"Your choice sheriff," Daryl said, walking away to go back the way they came, with the black guy not far behind, pushing the boy along as he went.

"If you come with us, you stay close and don't do anything stupid. Got it?" the sheriff asked, giving Will a hard look, who nodded at his words.

"Goes without saying," Will replied, determination in his eyes as he returned the sheriff's hard look.

"Ok, then come on, we have a rescue to carry out."

With the boy leading the group away from the building they were in and into a part of town Will had never visited before, the group soon arrived at a large brick building, most of the group staying back while the sheriff, who Will had learned was called Rick, scouted ahead. When he saw the coast was clear, he shook a small box full of bullets, signally the others to come over and join him, so they could all see where they were.

"You up for this?" Rick asked the black guy, who Will found out was named Theodore, or T-Dog for short, loading the gun in his hand.

"Yeah," T-Dog replied, getting his own gun ready, while Rick shifted his gaze to Will, who was gripping his bat tightly.

"Ready," Will replied, looking down at the boy beside him, who was staring down at the ground in front of him.

"Okay." Rick finished loading his shotgun just as T-Dog finished loading his own gun, picking up the bag of guns and carrying it away, leaving the others with the boy, who Daryl had his crossbow pointed at.

"One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know," Daryl threatened, the boy only chuckling at his words.

"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know," the boy told him, chuckling a little once more.

"G?" Rick asked curiously, the boy's words gaining his interest.

"Guillermo. He the man here," the boy scoffed, as if it were a piece of knowledge that everyone should know.

"Okay then. Let's go see Guillermo." Rick pumped his shotgun and got to his feet, gesturing for the others to follow behind him as he moved through the broken bars out into the open. Will stepped through after Rick and waited for the boy to follow him, keeping a close eye on him as Daryl joined them, the group of four carefully moving towards the building. Rick moved the boy in front of them and they all started walking forward, watching the area for any movement, in case the people they were there to see were hiding from them. When they were close enough to the double doors in front of the building, they slid open to reveal a Hispanic man on the other side, who stepped out of the building, watching the group closely.

"You okay little man?" the man, who Will assumed to be Guillermo, asked the boy, who shook his head in fear.

"They're gonna cut off my feet, Carnal," the boy replied, looking back at the trio behind him, a small amount of fear still in his eyes.

"Cops do that?" Guillermo questioned, looking at Rick with slight interest.

"Not him, this redneck puto here. He cut off some dude's hand man. He showed it to me," the boy answered, turning his gaze back to his friend.

"Shut up," Daryl snapped, the grip on his crossbow tightening as he glared at the man in front of them, as two more men emerged from the building.

"Hey, that's the vato right there, homes. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up homes huh?" the bold man, who Will recognised as one of the men from the alley, snapped, aiming his gun at Daryl, only for Guillermo to move his aim to the ground.

"Chill ese, chill. Chill. This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick man," Guillermo said, looking to Rick for some form of confirmation.

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion," Rick admitted, keeping his gun levelled at Guillermo, who wasn't backing down.

"That hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me," Guillermo smirked, his gaze moving over the trio, a threatening look in his eyes.

"Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on both sides," Rick pointed out, his gun lowering a little.

"Who's that dude to you anyway? You don't look related," Guillermo pointed out, looking over at Daryl.

"He's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him," Rick said, looking past the growing group of men appearing in the nearby doorway.

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asked, taking a few steps forward to get a better look himself.

"Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I've got an Asian. You interested?" Guillermo asked innocently, like it would be the first time any of them had heard that fact.

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade," Rick told him, Guillermo's expression barely even changing at his words.

"Don't sound even to me," Guillermo said, Miguelito's arms visibly slumping at his friend's words.

"G. Come on, man," the boy begged, looking at Guillermo pleadingly.

"My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?" Guillermo asked, watching the group in slight amusement.

"Guns?" Rick asked innocently, exchanging a quick glance with Daryl and Will, who only shook their heads.

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns," Guillermo explained, starting to sound a little annoyed by the people in front of him.

"You're mistaken," Rick told him bluntly, his face taking on a neutral expression.

"I don't think so," Guillermo snapped, a small bit of anger shining in his eyes.

"I think he means your mistaken about them being yours. They're his bag of guns," Will explained for Rick, before he had a chance to say anything.

"The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?" Guillermo asked, not even needing to motion to his companions, before Felipe and Jorge aimed their guns at the group, while the rest of the men behind them tightened their grips on their own weapons.

"You could do that," Rick admitted, looking over at a nearby rooftop while Guillermo followed his gaze, looking up to see T-Dog aiming his gun right at Guillermo.

"Or not," Will smirked, his smile vanishing when Guillermo looked back at the group with a smile on his face.

"Oye," he said with a loud voice, nodding his head up to the rooftop behind him. Rick, Daryl and Will all followed his gaze up to the rooftop, where two men are leading a man with a bag over his head, hands behind his back, to the edge of the roof. After smirking down at the group gathered below, one of the men removes the bag to show Glenn underneath, his mouth duct taped over.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood," Guillermo told them, getting the trio's attention back on him. With a smirk on his face, Guillermo and his men turned around when went back into the building together, closing the doors behind them, leaving Rick, Daryl, Will and Miguel alone in the courtyard, to back up the way they came, to go and figure out a plan B.

* * *

 **Here's the next chapter for those of you just starting, but this is the same as the original first chapter, as I explained, to make things easier on everyone reading the story.**

 **This one is going to be a little shorter than 1 and 3, because this sort of fits with the flow in my eyes, so I wanted to cut it short here, so the next chapter felt a little smoother.**

 **I thought the chapter title was appropriate, since Will helps the group out, and Daryl may or may not have helped along the situation with his own 'helping hand'.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3 - Trade Off

"Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You willing to give that up for that kid?" Daryl asked Rick, who was preparing his gun, while Will stood nearby, deep in thought. With the way the situation was starting to escalate, Will was starting to wonder whether it was such a good idea to keep helping this new group of people. Sure, he felt he owed them for being partly responsible for Glenn being taken, but there was only so far a person could go before self-preservation started to kick in. If Will was being perfectly honest, it was stuck on the fence for where to go next, weighing his options to decide what would be the best course of action, something he was thinking about while the others continued their conversation.

"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that vato across the way is gonna hand him over?" T-Dog questioned, seeming to agree with Daryl more so than Rick.

"You calling G a liar?" Miguel asked, looking up at T-Dog in slight anger, only for Daryl to turn on him, having his own bit of anger to give.

"Are you a part of this? You want to hold onto your teeth?" Daryl questioned angrily, slapping Miguel on the side of the head.

"You don't have to keep hitting the guy," Will told him, turning his gaze away when Daryl gave him a death glare.

"Question is; do you trust that man's word?" T-Dog asked, looking to both Rick and Daryl for an answer, even sparing a glance at Will, who wasn't sure if he should give his own opinion, after the look Daryl had given him.

"No, question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?" Daryl asked, walking over to stand in front of Rick again, waiting for his reply.

"What life I have I owe to him. I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I," Rick replied, putting his gun into his holster, looking back at Daryl.

"So you're gonna hand the guns over?" he questioned in annoyance.

"I didn't say that. There's nothing keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp, take the kid with you," Rick told them, gesturing to Will, who shook his head at Rick's words.

"I'm not going anywhere, I want to help," he said, refusing to back down from his decision.

"Neither am I. Besides, what would we tell your family?" T-Dog questioned, looking to Daryl for confirmation, who looked to Rick and nodded his head. With that, Rick picked up a gun and handed it over to T-Dog, while Daryl picked up his own gun, offering another one to Will who shook his head.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll stick with my bat and knife. I have this thing with guns," Will told him, pulling his knife from his back pocket while picking his bat up with his other hand.

"Suit yourself. You can watch the kid," Daryl told him, going back to loading his own gun.

"Come on. This is nuts," Miguel started to say, standing up from his seat on the floor, only for Daryl to stop him. Without a word, he points to the nearby chair, which Miguel reluctantly sits in, seeming quite upset, a pleading tone coming to his voice. "Just do like G says."

"I don't think that's going to happen." Once they had finished loading their guns, they gagged Miguel and tied his arms up behind his back, leading him out of the building and back to where Glenn was being held. Before long, they arrived, moving together closely as they went up to the building, with Will leading Miguel forward as the doors opened to allow their group entry.

"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag," Guillermo said, glaring at Rick, who remained as stone-faced as ever as he and the others entered the building.

"That's because they're not yours. I thought my friend here mentioned that," Rick pointed out, gesturing to Will, who only smirked at Guillermo.

"Pretty sure I told him that," Will said, keeping a close eye on all the men surrounding them, starting to wonder why he had offered to stick around and help.

"Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese. All right? Unload on their asses, ese," Felipe growled, the gun in his hand waving around too much for Will's liking.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation," Guillermo told Rick, looking to Felipe to back down a little.

"No, I'm pretty clear," Rick admitted, nodding his head to Will, who stepped forward with his knife and cut Miguel free, pushing him towards the waiting arms of his friends, Guillermo's anger rising by the second. "You have your man. I want mine."

"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?" Guillermo questioned angrily, moving up close to stand in front of Rick threateningly.

"No, my hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded? Okay then, we're here." Rick pumped his shotgun and aimed it at Guillermo's head, while T-Dog and Daryl prepared their own guns, Will starting to regret his personal rule against guns as the room filled with the sounds of guns clicking in their owner's hands, all pointed at the group. Before anyone had a chance to make a move, Will noticed movement behind all the men, and a small, old woman appears, weaving through the men to reach the centre.

"Felipe! Felipe!" the woman says desperately, quickly moving over to him, barely taking notice of all the guns around her.

"Abuela, go back with the others, now," Felipe ordered, his aim never moving from Rick and the group while looking back at her.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl ordered, impressing Will a little that he actually does care about who he harms.

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is not the place for you right now," Guillermo said, agreeing with Felipe, barely moving an inch as he turned his head to look at the old woman.

"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. Carlito didn't find it. He needs his medicine," Abuela begged Felipe, refusing to go back to where she had appeared from.

"Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you," Guillermo told Felipe angrily before turning back to look at Rick angrily.

"Abuela, vas conmigo, por favour," Felipe said, making Will wish he could remember his Spanish lessons, even if he got the general idea of what he was saying.

"Who are those men?" Abuela asked Felipe, pushing past him to get a closer look at Rick and the group, all of them backing up slightly.

"Ah, por favor, vas conmigo," Felipe repeated, moving to follow his grandmother, to get her to leave Will assumed.

"Don't you take him," she ordered angrily, looking to Rick, probably assuming he was there as a sheriff, not a rescuer.

"Ma'am?" Rick asked in confusion, his face seeming to change slightly, making Will think he had changed into sheriff mode.

"Felipe's a good boy. He have his trouble but he pull himself together. We need him here," Abuela begged, managing to make Rick lower his gun at her words.

"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson," Rick informed her, looking to the others like he had an idea.

"Then what do you want him for?" she asked in confusion, her gaze never leaving Rick.

"He's… helping us find a missing person. A fella named Glenn," Rick told her, looking past her briefly to look at the men gathered behind her.

"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come. Come, I show you. He needs his medicine," Abuela informs him, gesturing for Rick to follow her. As she started leading him to the back, Guillermo stood aside in defeat, looking back to his men as Rick continued following Abuela.

"Let 'em pass," Guillermo announced to his men, all of them lowering their weapons as Daryl, T-Dog and Will followed Rick, moving out of the room to go outside.

"Of all the scenarios I was running through my head on how we were getting out of that, I wasn't expecting this to be one of them," Will admitted to T-Dog, who was walking beside him, as the group stepped out into a grassy area, with a few men scattered throughout the area.

"How many of those scenarios involved us being dead?' T-Dog questioned, turning to look at the teen.

"Most of them," Will admitted, making T-Dog chuckle as they reached a set of stairs, which led them into another building, which looked like a retirement home that had been converted into a hospital of sorts. At least, that's what Will thought as he followed Rick down the hall, looking into each of the rooms as they went. Each of them contained an older man or woman, with someone younger taking care of them, whether it involved giving them medicine, reading them a book, or just having a conversation, either way, there were quite a few people there, more than Will had expected. Soon, they made their way into a large, opened out area, filled with a lot more people, sitting around and talking, while Felipe and his Abuela moved over to a nearby man in a wheelchair, who had the most people surrounding him at that current moment, one of those people being Glenn. Felipe stepped up to who Will assumed to be Mr. Gilbert and put an asthma puffer to his lips, pressing the button on top to dispense the fluids into his mouth, to help him breath better. Will had needed one of those when he was younger, having had asthma attacks more often than he cared to admit, a fact that stopped him doing any real sports until he was at least twelve years old.

"What the hell is this?" Rick asked Glenn, who finally shifted his gaze away from Mr. Gilbert to look at the group.

"Asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden," Glenn replied dumbly, not understanding that wasn't the question Rick had asked.

"I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man," T-Dog snapped at Glenn who turned his head to look behind him, gesturing to a basket filled with a trio of Chihuahuas, one of them barking when he noticed the group of strangers.

"They're so cute," Will said, smiling at the dogs, noticing out of the corner of his eye the frown Daryl was giving him. "Shutting up."

"Could I have a word with you? You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you," Rick growled when he pulled Guillermo aside, gesturing to all the people in the room.

"Well, I'm glad it didn't go down that way," Guillermo told him, backing up a little from Rick.

"So am I," Will muttered, noticing Daryl glaring at him again.

"Do you ever not talk?" he asked in annoyance, glaring at Will.

"Rarely," Will admitted, gesturing to Rick to continue his conversation, since he was looking at the pair, seeming annoyed himself.

"If it had, that blood would be on my hands," Rick continued on, turning his focus back to the guilty Guillermo.

"Mine too. We'd have fought back. Wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine, what's left of it. These people, the old ones, the staff took off, just left 'em here to die. Me and Felipe were the only ones who stayed," he informed Rick, gesturing with his hands to all the people in the room in turn.

"What are you, doctors?" Rick questioned, probably thinking it's the only way they would want to stick around.

"Felipe's a nurse, a special care provider. Me, I'm the custodian," Guillermo replied matter-of-factly, not backing down from Rick's glare. With an exasperated sigh, Rick nodded his head, gesturing to a nearby room for them all to go to, Will following closely behind as they went over. Once the whole group was inside the room, Rick took the bag of guns from T-Dog and placed them on a nearby chair, not seeming to be done questioning Guillermo just yet.

"What about the rest of your crew?" Rick asked, his previous anger having faded away already.

"The vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind, plunderers. The kind that take by force," Guillermo answered, looking at the rest of the group, who still had their weapons in hand, except for Will, who had already stored his away in his bag.

"That's not who we are," Rick told him, glancing back at his group, who all nodded their heads in agreement, Daryl seeming to do so reluctantly.

"How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage. Appearances," Guillermo told him focusing his gaze on Rick again.

"Guess the world changed," T-Dog said, only for Guillermo to shake his head.

"No, it's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now. I don't even know why," Guillermo admitted, lowering his head a little in shame.

"Because they can," Rick told him, gaining his attention once more. Without a word, Rick offered up his shotgun, stock end first, to Guillermo, who graciously took it with a smile on his face, while Rick got more guns out of the bag to give him. Before long, after Will had had a quick visit with the trio of dogs, the group were out of the building and walking away down the street, back to the group's vehicle. As they walked, Will realised that he had gotten so caught up in helping Rick's group, that he had lost a lot of the day, time he could've been spending finding supplies for his trip out of town. Now that he started to think about it however, he wasn't sure anymore what his next plans should be, whether he should stick to his original plans, or think about making new ones.

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," Glenn laughed, pulling Will out of his thoughts to listen to the conversation.

"Don't tell anybody," Rick told him in equal amusement, stealing a glance at Will, who looked away when he noticed his gaze on him.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl growled, annoyed that they had lost so many weapons to the vatos.

"Not nearly half," Rick corrected him, ignoring the anger in Daryl's voice.

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?

"How long do any of us?" Rick questioned philosophically, the group walking around a bus to reach their vehicle, which meant it was almost time to part ways. At least, that was what Will thought, until they reached the other side and there was nothing there, just empty space, which seemed to surprise the group just as much as it had Will.

"Oh my God," Glenn groaned, looking around the area for any sign of their van.

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl questioned angrily, has hand going to his crossbow as a look of understanding appeared on Rick's face.

"We left it right there. Who would take it?" Glenn agreed, having noticed Rick's realisation as well.

"Merle." The group all looked at him as the name escaped his mouth, realisation dawning on all of them as the gravity of the situation finally became clear to them.

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp," Daryl pointed out, instantly turning to start running down the road, with T-Dog and Glenn not far behind, the only one staying with Will being Rick.

"What about you, what are you going to do now?" he asked, looking to the rest of the group as they stopped their jogging, looking back at Rick and Will, waiting impatiently.

"I was planning on just going back, finding myself some supplies, and moving on. I've been surviving by myself this long, can't be that hard to keep doing it by myself right?" he questioned with a half-hearted laugh, his smile disappearing when he met Rick's hard gaze.

"I know we're strangers to each other, and normally that means you avoid each other, but as a father, I can't let a kid run around all by himself, I might as well feed you to those things myself," Rick told him, crossing his arms over his chest, watching Will, who absentmindedly kicked the ground, feeling a little awkward under the man's gaze.

"But you're not my father, so you shouldn't really feel an obligation to want to take care of me. I am sixteen after all, I can take care of myself," Will pointed out weakly, knowing how unsure his own words sounded coming out of his mouth.

"You're still too young to be by yourself. Come with us, we'll take care of you, there's plenty of room for one more," Rick offered, looking to the three men nearby who all nodded their heads, even Daryl, which surprised Will a little.

"I don't want to be a burden," Will said, staring down at his shoes, already knowing where he wanted to go next.

"You won't be." Will looked up from the ground and stared at Rick, his gaze seeming almost fatherly, a look Will hadn't seen in many years. After looking between Rick and the rest of the men standing nearby, he looking back to Rick and nodded his head, having finally come to a decision.

"Okay, let's get going then."

Not long after Will had accepted Rick's offer to come back with him and his group to their camp, the group of five had started to run out of the city, trying to make quick progress back to their camp before it got too dark to see anything ahead of them. Before long, they came onto a road that apparently meant they weren't far from camp, the group hoping that Merle wasn't already back there, wreaking havoc on the group, in his search for the people that had left him stranded on a rooftop back in Atlanta. As they all continued to jog back to the camp, Will started to wonder what it would be like to be with other people again, having not seen any real people since he had left his uncle's town two weeks before, no other people having really jumped out at him until now. Being a part of this group, living in their camp, it could be his chance to survive, to live long enough that he might one day find the last remaining members of his family, so he wouldn't be alone in the world any longer. Just as the last rays of the sun disappeared on the horizon, Will was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of distant gunshots and screaming, which could only mean one thing. The undead were attacking the camp. The group shifted into a quick run, moving as quickly as they could to get back to the camp to save the survivors there, hoping they would get there in time to save the people living there. Before long, they ran into the camp, seeing the undead roaming around in every direction, the rest of the group firing their guns as soon as they saw them, while Will moved into the fray, swinging his bat at anything that got too close to him or the others. Together, they slowly mowed down the surrounding undead, multiple bodies falling to the ground in a matter of seconds, until the only things left moving in the camp were the living.

Once they were all gone, a nearby crying boy ran up to Rick and leapt into his waiting arms, wrapping his own around Rick's neck while he comforted who Will assumed to be his son, while he walked over to a nearby woman, who must've been his wife. Will looked around at the carnage surrounding him, his thoughts of a happy group of people in a wide open space vanishing as he looked around at all the dead bodies, undead and previously living alike, until his eyes landed on something that made him freeze. On the ground near what looked like an RV, was a woman on top of a teenager, around Will's age, whose neck was bleeding all over the woman's hand, probably having been attacked during the undead invasion. As much as he wanted to avert his eyes from the scene, Will watched as tears fell from the woman's eyes onto the girl's face, the girl seeming to slowly fade away as her eyes flickered shut, all life leaving her, as the woman silently cried over the death of the girl. As he looked around at the distraught group of people, Will started to realise the irony of the situation he had gotten himself into. He had left behind a city of the dead, it's street filled to the brim with the undead, only to end up in a group that looked like the walking dead themselves. What were they going to do now?

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes," one of the men said cryptically, Will taking barely any notice of his words as he made eye contact with Rick, who only stared back sadly at him. If there was at least one thing Will knew about his current situation, it was that his future seemed just as dark as the night sky, clueless to what might happen next, now that his one chance at survival was gone, making him wonder how, after all this time, he still had the will to live.

* * *

 **And here is the third chapter chapter of the story, and the final chapter of Vatos, ready for you all to read.**

 **I know the last bit is mostly description, but since there isn't any real talking on Rick's end of the episode, I just felt it would be easier to end it the way I did, without adding in any awkward conversation, that probably wouldn't have fit in, given that they were jogging most of the way home.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and are ready for the next one, where I tackle the next episode, Wildfire.**

 **Next on The Will to Live:** Will tries his best to integrate into the group after a terrible tragedy, finding a connection with a certain young Grimes boy, and helping someone through the death of someone close to them, all before making his way back to Atlanta, in search of the CDC, so that he might finally stop moving and find time to rest.


	4. Chapter 4 - Wildfire

If someone had told him two nights ago that he would be trading in running around Atlanta looking for his sister, for helping to lift dead bodies into piles, Will wasn't sure whether he would believe them or not. Sure, the world was being overrun by the undead, or 'geeks', or even 'walkers', as Will's new group would call them, that fact alone should make almost anything believable, but he didn't think he would ever have to be near freshly dead bodies. After they had made sure there were no more of the undead waiting further in the camp to attack unexpectedly the previous night, everyone had gone into the RV and slept. The only one that didn't go inside was the woman, whose name Will learned to be Andrea from Rick, who wanted to stay outside with her sister, Amy. Even though no one had questioned Will's presence in their camp, they still looked at him a little suspiciously, not sure whether they should trust him or not. By the time the early morning had rolled around, everyone was back up and moving the surrounding bodies into piles, ready to burn them, just in case they weren't fully gone. Every so often, Will's eyes would drift over to Andrea, who hadn't stopped staring at her sister since her death the night before, not being able to come to terms with what had happened. Although he couldn't understand how anyone could stay in one spot for such a long time, Will didn't want to think about his sister being dead somewhere, not sure if he would want to know if she had died or not. As he went about helping move the bodies, Will started to learn the names of the other people in the camp, learning a little about each of them as he went.

Morales and his family, his wife and two children, seemed to be a close group, making Will think of all those 'perfect families' on TV, seeming like they would be incomplete if even one of them wasn't there. To Will, they seemed like the kind of family Will used to be a part of, before the event that took away his parents, leaving him and his sister with very few relatives to go to for help. Then there was Rick's family, his wife Lori, who was quite welcoming to Will once he introduced himself, and their son Carl, who had remained quiet ever since the events of the previous night. Although he hadn't had a proper chance to get to know Lori, she kind of reminded him of his mother, always looking out for her own family, while taking care of everyone else, without even needing to be asked. Next was Shane, Rick's old partner and best friend, someone that seemed a little off to Will, but he didn't think on it much, no wanting to jump to any conclusions so early on during his stay with the group. Then of course there was Dale, the eldest member of the group, who also seemed to be the wisest, keeping watch over the group while they went about their business, so they wouldn't be surprised yet again. Next was Carol and her daughter Sophia, who had just recently lost Ed, Carol's husband and Sophia's father which, you would think would be a sad occasion, but strangely neither of them seemed as sad about it as one might've thought. Then last of all, there was Jim and Jacqui, who both seemed nice enough, except for the former, who had been a little jumpy ever since they had cleared out the undead the night before, flinching a little whenever someone drew too close. Altogether, they were a very diverse group, full of different kinds of people, but at least they seemed close, like a family, one that was pushed together by severe circumstances. Looking at the group around him, Will started to wonder if he deserved to be with them, deserved to be alive even, when so many people had died because they weren't careful enough. While these thoughts travelled through his mind, Rick walked over to Will, tapping him on the shoulder to gain his attention.

"You should sit down and rest for a while, let the adults work," Rick told him, gesturing for him to come join some of the group by the fire, some of whom were watching Andrea closely.

"I know I'm not an adult yet, but it's not like I'm a child," Will told him, wiping away the sweat that had started to form on his forehead.

"You should still sit for a while, let the others worry about taking care of the bodies," Rick insisted, not looking like he would be backing down anytime soon.

"But I should earn my keep, you can't expect me to come into this group and offer nothing in return for their kindness," Will maintained, not backing down himself.

"That can come later," Rick told him, gesturing for him to follow him again, which Will was still reluctant to do.

"If I can't do something for you, then why am I here? After so many people have died, do I really deserve to stick around?" Will questioned, staring down at his feet, feeling like a child, no matter how much he would protest the fact.

"It doesn't matter who you are, everyone deserves a chance at living, especially a sixteen-year-old boy from Atlanta," Rick smiled, gesturing for Will to follow him to the fire pit, which he finally did, if not a little reluctantly. When he reached the group, Lori gave him a small smile when Will sat down beside her, soon going back to watching Andrea with the rest of the people around the fire pit.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked, standing beside Lori, who nodded her head sadly.

"She won't even talk to us. She's been there all night. What do we do?" Lori asked, posing the question to everyone gathered.

"Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it. Same as the others," Shane told her bluntly, which sounded a little too harsh for Will's liking.

"I'll tell her how it is," Rick offered, stepping away from the group to approach Andrea, leaving the rest to sit in silence. They all watched Rick closely as he approached Andrea, who continued to stare at Amy, whether she heard him approaching, Will wasn't sure. Just as Rick started to talk to her, Andrea pulled her gun on him, the rest of the group jumping to their feet, in case things went even further south. While apologising profusely, Rick backed away from her, leaving Andrea to go back to staring at her sister's lifeless form, like nothing had happened, like nothing had changed.

"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb," Daryl told the group, having noticed Andrea's little reaction to Rick talking to her.

"What do you suggest?" Rick questioned impatiently, not looking like he wanted to deal with Daryl at that point in time.

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance," Daryl informed him, pointing at Amy's head, forming his fingers into the shape of a gun.

"No. For God's sakes, let her be," Lori said quietly, sitting back down on her seat, her shoulders slumping a little in defeat as she continued to watch over Andrea. Will moved back over to his seat and sat beside Lori once more, trying to think of some way he could help, not wanting to push any boundaries with the group.

"I know you guys don't know me very well yet, but did you want me to talk to her? I'm not a priest or anything, not even close, but I at least try to keep a hold of my religion as much as possible. I could try making things easier for her," Will suggested, getting a small smile out of Lori, who turned her gaze to look at the teen.

"Thank you for the offer, but given the way she reacted when Rick tried talking to her, I don't think she'd do well with a teenager talking religion with her, no offence," she told him, turning back to look at Andrea, which Will did as well.

"None taken, I understand people's reluctance to trust in a higher power. Personally, I never really took to the idea of some old guy, just sitting up in the sky, watching over everything. I like to think of it as having something to believe in, helps to keep a little hope in your life when the world is so shitty," Will told her, seeming to surprise Lori a little with his words.

"I never really thought of it that way. I guess I just…" Lori began to say, before she was cut off but Glenn's nearby shouting.

"We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?" Glenn shouted, making everyone nearby jump at his sudden outburst, drawing their attention to the conversation happening nearby. "Our people go in that row over there."

"You reap what you sow," Daryl called over to Glenn once he and Morales had moved the body in their hands away from the burning bodies, looking like he might have angered Morales a little.

"You know what? Shut up, man," Morales snapped, dropping the body onto the ground and walking away, while Daryl did the same in the opposite direction.

"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming," Daryl shouted after him, walking away from the group, hopefully to go and calm himself down.

"If anyone in this group needs religion, it's him," Will scoffed, making Lori laugh at his words, which felt like a small accomplishment to Will.

"On that, I think we can agree." Will continued to quietly talk to Lori after that, both of them just bringing up random subjects to talk about, both of them probably just wanting to think about something other than the pile of burning bodies nearby. After a couple minutes or so, they noticed a commotion nearby, something that looked like a heated conversation between Jacqui and Jim, one that ended in something that shocked Will, making him slightly fearful at her words.

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim," Jacqui announced to the group, gaining everyone's attention, enough so that they stopped what they were doing and moved other to them, gathering around to look at Jim while Jacqui slowly backed away.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Will heard Jim mutter, who was backing away himself, looking fearfully around at the menacing group of survivors surrounding him.

"Show it to us. Show it to us," Daryl ordered, coming at Jim threateningly. In retaliation, Jim turned around and picked up a shovel, tightening his grip on the handle as he glared at the group, daring them to try and come at him. The group started to become tense and a little more threatening after that, most of them trying to convince him to put the shovel down, before he hurt someone, before he did something he would regret. While Jim was distracted by all the people trying to talk to him at once, T-Dog ran up and grabbed Jim from behind, making him drop his shovel, giving Daryl a chance to pull up his shirt. Upon closer inspection, the group realised with horror that he really did have a bite mark is on his stomach, some fresh blood trickling down his torso as everyone looked on. After confirming Jacqui's words were true, Daryl dropped his shirt back down and T-Dog let go of Jim, leaving him to continue muttering that he was "okay", being left by himself as everyone else grouped up against him, not sure what they should do.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," Daryl suggested, effectively killing two bird with one stone by his suggestion, so to speak.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane questioned, which only made Daryl nod his head at his words.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl stated, something that Will found himself not being surprised at in the slightest.

"I hate to say it, I never thought I would, but maybe Daryl's right," Dale said, surprising most of the group that he would say such a thing.

"But it's not like he's one of them yet, he's not a monster, or some rabid dog that you can just put down," Will said, receiving a glare from Daryl for his words.

"No one asked you kid, get lost," Daryl snapped, shoving Will away towards the fire pit, which only angered him.

"I was only saying…" he started to say before Rick rested a hand on his shoulder shaking his head, before turning back to the group.

"Let him stay, just as long as he promises not to say anything else," Rick told the group, aiming the last part of what he said at Will, who nodded his head reluctantly.

"Either way, I'm not suggesting we put him down, it's just…" Dale continued to explain, before Rick interrupted him next.

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick questioned him, addressing the group more so than Dale.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers. Or them to be," Daryl replied for the group, becoming impatient with how long the decision making was taking.

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure," Rick suggested hopefully, which only made Shane shake his head in disagreement.

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane told him, probably having already made up his mind about the whole situation.

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick argued, not willing to back down from his idea, while Shane did the same.

"Man, that is a stretch right there," Shane said, having a comeback for anything Rick wanted to say.

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection, rescue…" Rick continued to argue, only for Shane to angrily cut his friend off.

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too. Okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning," Shane told the group, finally coming up with his own suggestion, rather than turning down all of Rick's.

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction," Lori pointed out, which only seemed to spur on Shane's train of thought as he continued talking.

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there," Shane explained, his idea starting to make a little bit of sense to Will, which he had to admit surprised him a little.

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance," Rick pointed out to the group, another plan that Will agreed with. He was hoping right about now that someone could make a bad suggestion again so he could disagree with their opinion, which looked like it was about to happen, compliments of Daryl Dixon.

"You go looking for aspirin; do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl cut into the conversation, tightening his grip on his pick axe as he turned around and ran at Jim with his weapon raised above his head, with everyone protesting, only for Rick to pull out his revolver and aim it at Daryl's head.

"We don't kill the living," Rick spat, his grip on his gun tightening as Daryl turned back to look at him, lowering his weapon in the process.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl growled, refusing to back down another inch.

"We may disagree on some things, not on this one. You put it down. Go on," Shane told him, having stepped past the pair to stand in front of Jim defensively. With an annoyed grunt, Daryl dropped his pick axe into the dirt and stalked off to another part of the camp, while Rick walked over and grabbed Jim, leading him away from his spot on the ground.

"Where are you taking me?" Jim asked in confusion, allowing Rick to lead him away as Shane followed Daryl from a distance to make sure he didn't turn around to try attacking Jim again.

"Somewhere safe." After that, everyone went back to their previous activities, all of them falling into silence, while Dale walked over to talk to talk to Andrea, wanting to have his own chance to help her. Although Lori had told him he probably shouldn't bother talking to Andrea, to help her through the process, Will started to wonder whether he should talk to her anyway, just in case. Whether the reason he wanted to was to help her out, or to help himself through everything that was happening, he wasn't quite sure, but he knew that he needed to do something, not wanting to sit around and do nothing.

"You doing okay? I know you were only trying to help before." While Will had been staring at Andrea and Dale talking, Rick had approached him unnoticed, having put Jim in a safer place already, somewhere that they could make sure Daryl didn't try to hurt him again.

"It's fine, you guys don't trust me quite yet, I understand. When you're in the kind of world we're in right now, even a somewhat innocent sixteen-year-old boy could be a big threat. It'll just take a little time, and I'm sure I'll be able to integrate into the group, as long as we last that long. Between Daryl's temper and the group's dwindling numbers, things are starting to look just slightest bit bleak," Will informed him, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared into space.

"Start thinking like that and sure, things will start looking bleak. You need to try and think a little more positively," Rick suggested, flinching a little when Will met his gaze, a small mix of anger and fear in his eyes.

"It's just hard to do when the others here don't seem to have much of a positive outlook. I try to get by on what little hope I have left that my sister might be alive and waiting for me to find her, but there's only so much hope that, and gripping onto my religious values, can do for me," Will told him, noticing Dale standing up and walking away from Andrea, which gave Will an opening to go talk to her when he finished his conversation with Rick.

"You're already doing better than most of the people here, even if you haven't had the chance to make an emotional attachment to them like the others already have. Give yourself some time, and you might be able to get your spirits back up. Who knows, maybe you might be able to help someone else in the process," Rick suggested, walking away to walk over to Lori, leaving Will to consider talking to Andrea, finally deciding that he might as well try. After all, like Rick was trying to say, by having positivity on his side, he might be able to help the others, even if it was only in a small, insignificant way. Will mentally psyched himself up before walking over to talk to Andrea, who made no move to react to his presence like she had with Rick, which Will took as a good sign as he knelt down beside her. Looking down at Amy, Will thought about how pretty she was, even in death her neck covered in blood, a beautiful corpse. Not sure how he should start, Will fiddled with his fingers for a few seconds until Andrea looked away from her sister to look at Will, a stony expression on her face as she stared at him, probably wondering why he had bothered to come over to her.

"I know we don't know each other very well, but I wanted to come over and give you my condolences, no one should have to die so young," Will told her sincerely, giving her a warm smile, looking back to Amy when Andrea did the same.

"Thanks," she said quietly, pushing a stray lock of hair out of Amy's face, staring down at her, like she was waiting for her to wake up and act like nothing had happened to her.

"This may seem like a strange suggestion from a stranger, and I know you might not believe in this sort of thing, but do you mind if I pray for her? I know it isn't exactly much, but it might at least give you a little closure, if you said something yourself, even if it's something you say in your thoughts," Will suggested hopefully, watching Andrea closely, who only continued staring at her sister. When she didn't speak for a little while, Will thought she might have blanked out again, so when he started getting to his feet and her bloody hand grabbed his forearm, he was quite surprised.

"A few words might be nice," she said, letting go of Will as he knelt back down, a small smile on his face as he came back down to kneel beside her. He offered his hand to her which she reluctantly took, continuing to watch her sister while Will closed his eyes, his thoughts being filled with words of positivity about a girl he never had the chance to know. He felt Andrea's hand tighten in his grip, making him open his eyes to see her holding her ear to Amy's mouth, which he noticed had opened slightly, the sounds of rasping breath escaping her. Not wanting to be near Amy as she awoke, but not wanting to leave Andrea, he let go of her hand and backed up a little, giving her a little space, while his praying continued in his head. As he watched on, Amy's eyes slowly opened to reveal almost white pupils, managing to scare Will a little but not seeming to affect Andrea, who put her hand to the side of Amy's face, smiling down at her sister.

"Amy, I'm sorry," Andrea whispered, stroking the side of Amy's head as the girl turned to look at her sister with undead eyes. Before Will could react, Amy's hand had risen from its side up to Andrea's face, her bloodied fingers trailing along Andrea's cheek as she continued to talk to her undead sister.

"I'm sorry for not ever being there. I always thought there'd be more time," Andrea continued, barely taking notice of Amy's hand as it moved away from Andrea's cheek towards her hair. Without warning, Amy gripped Andrea's hair and pulled herself off of the ground, quiet groans escaping her mouth as she stared at Andrea hungrily, the spirit of the girl she had been before her death having long vanished. Although she was faced with her undead sister, sitting right in front of her, Andrea seemed to be unaffected, continuing on like nothing had changed, like they were having a normal conversation, leaving Will at a loss for what to do next.

"I'm here now, Amy. I'm here. I love you." As Andrea finished talking, Will noticed out of the corner of his eye that Rick and Shane were slowly approaching, their guns drawn, prepared to end things before it went too far, before it became unmanageable. Having finished what she was saying, Andrea pressed her forehead to Amy's and pulled out her gun at the same time, pressing it to the side of Amy's head before pulling the trigger, making her body lifeless once more. Andrea continued to stare down at her sister lovingly, taking a hold of Will's hand again for comfort, which he squeezed in return, knowing that now was the right time to continue giving her what little he had left to offer. For all intents and purposes, Andrea's current ordeal was over, her sister was officially dead, now all she had to worry about was the aftermath, the depression that would follow the death of a loved one. A feeling that Will knew all too well.

* * *

 **And here is chapter 4, up and ready for you all to read.**

 **When I was preparing to write this episode, I wasn't quite sure where I could take it, where I could insert Will into it but, after looking through the episode a few times, these moments felt like the right ones to integrate him into.**

 **I also wanted Will to have a religious side to him, so I can show where he's starting on his journey, showing how much he still needs to have, even though he really doesn't have anything left to keep him going, other than the fact that he might finally be able to see his sister again. So I thought, by helping others, he might be able to reclaim the hope he used to have, and try keeping it alive for as long as possible, while also helping everyone around him.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and are pumped for the next one! I'm hard at work writing more chapters, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for anything to come your way.**

 **Love you guys 3**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Road to Nowhere

_C.E.W -_ **Just because they happen to be around the same age, and both have some form of religious standing and will be meeting up soon, doesn't necessarily mean they will be a couple... But yeah, I might be going that route once I get around to that part of the show :P**

* * *

After giving Andrea some time to sit with Amy a little longer, they wrapped up Amy's body in a sheet and brought her up to the burial site, not far from the camp, along with all the others. Although Dale and some of the others had offered to help put her body into the hole they had dug, having already buried the others beforehand, Andrea insisted on doing it herself, making Will cringe a little as he watched her struggle to drag her sister into her grave. Soon, after a lot of trouble on her behalf, Andrea finally managed to get Amy into the hole, allowing Dale to help her back out, so they could go about having a funeral for all of the people they had lost. When everyone had said what they needed to say, and Amy had been the last to be buried, everyone made their way back down to the campsite, Will noticing that Rick and his family were hanging back. Will stopped in his tracks nearby and watched them, a flash of a memory from his childhood appearing in his mind for a split second before he came back into reality, the only thing remaining being the longing to be back with his family.

"Will, could you take Carl back to camp with you?" Rick asked, gesturing to Carl, who had started to walk down the trail towards Will, stopping once he had reached him. Although Will knew that the camp wasn't that far of a walk away from the burial site, the look Rick and Lori were giving him told him they needed some alone time, something Will could help with if he kept Carl preoccupied.

"You okay with that?" Will asked, looking to Lori for her permission, not wanting to overstep, even if it was only to walk their son back to the camp that wasn't too far away.

"I am," she replied, giving Will a smile as she turned to have a quiet conversation with Rick, leaving Will to walk alongside Carl back to the camp. The pair walked along the dirt road in silence, neither of them saying a word, with Will wanting Carl to talk to him before he said anything himself.

"Are you going to stay with us now?" Carl finally asked, looking up at the teen, who towered a couple feet of height above him.

"I hope so, you guys seem like a nice group," Will said, smiling down at Carl, who had turned his attention back to the road ahead of them.

"You're not going to die too, like the others did, are you?" he questioned, surprising Will with his sudden serious question.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Will asked back, having been a while since he talked to someone so young, the last time having been a few years back whenever he talked to his sister, who was a bit younger than Carl was now.

"I didn't get much time to know everyone, before the monsters took them away. I don't want them to take anyone else away. I don't want them to take my mom away, or my dad. I don't want to lose him again," he replied quietly, which only put a sad smile on Will's face, forgetting how much he missed having the innocent mind of a child.

"No one's going to leave you again, your mom and dad love you too much for that, they'd never leave you behind. As long as they're around, you'll never be alone again," Will reassured him, the campsite coming into full view as everyone found themselves a place to sit, already looking exhausted from the day's events.

"What about your parents? Did they leave you behind?" Carl asked innocently, the pair stopping once they neared the group, all of them too busy worrying about each other to notice the two boys talking nearby.

"Well, I lost them a long time ago. For a while I had my uncle, but then I lost him as well. All I have left is my sister, wherever she is out there. Hopefully one day I will find her, and I can have someone to worry about again. Until then, all I have is myself," Will told him, kneeling down to be level with Carl.

"Until you find your sister, you can worry about us as well. You don't have to worry about yourself anymore okay?" Carl smiled at Will who smiled in return, smiling at his innocence, something he hoped would stay with him for as long as possible, the innocence of a child being a rare thing in the world now.

"You sure you want to trust a stranger?" Will asked him, noticing Rick and Lori approaching the camp, both of them noticing the boys talking.

"If I know your name, and I think you're a good person, then you're not really a stranger anymore, at least, that's what my mom tells me anyway," Carl said, continuing to give Will a big toothy grin.

"I suppose that could work," Will smiled back, looking past Carl's shoulder to see Rick and Lori coming to a stop, just being in earshot of their conversation.

"So, until you find your sister, we'll be your family. Deal?" Carl asked, spitting into his hand and sticking it out to Will, who laughed at the gesture. After a couple of seconds of fake thinking, Will spat into his hand as well and shook Carl's hand, his face becoming serious for a few moments.

"It's a deal," Will told him, his smile reappearing when their hands pulled apart, noticing that both Rick and Lori were smiling fondly as well, seeming to be quite proud of their son.

"Why don't you go and play with Sophia and the other kids for a while, let Will have a little rest," Lori suggested, walking over with Rick to stand with the two boys.

"Okay then," Carl smiled, walking away from the trio to approach Sophia and Morales' two children, the group falling into quiet conversation as soon as Carl joined them.

"Thank you for that," Rick said, giving Will a handshake after he wiped his hand of any leftover spittle.

"It was all him, believe me. You raised him well," Will informed them, getting a quick hug from Lori for his kind words.

"You should go sit down, have a break, we'll try to figure out what we're doing next," Lori told him, gesturing for him to go sit on one of the logs near the fire pit. With a grateful nod of his head, Will walked over and sat down with the others, starting to feel like he might finally be fitting into the group, in one small way or another.

* * *

While Will was taking his time to rest, somehow, while taking a sweep of the forest for any nearby walkers, Shane decided he was going to support Rick's plan to go to the CDC, deciding that they would head out the next morning to reach their destination. As hard as he tried to fall asleep that night, Will found himself only managing to get a few hours sleep before he would wake up, stare up at the sky for a little while and roll over onto his side, trying his best to fall back to sleep once more. He did this for the rest of the night it seemed, following the same pattern over and over again, until the first rays of the morning sun started to creep over the horizon. By that point, Will hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep but, knowing he had a big day ahead of him, Will got up and checked his bag over for supplies, avoiding the front zip, as he rummaged through his belongings. While the rest of the group started to awaken and exit their tents, Will found the picture of his sister and mother at the bottom of his bag, taking the time to look at their faces, wanting to keep his memories fresh in his mind for as long as he could. Staring at the picture made him start to think about the possibility of giving up in his search altogether and focusing on just surviving, knowing that, by continuing to worry about his sister, he may never be able to focus on himself. Now that he had this whole group of new people to get to know, he started to think that maybe he had a chance to start over, to figure out where he fit into the world, now that he really didn't have any family left to fit into. As he thought about this, Carl's words from the evening before kept popping up in his mind, that the group could be his new family, that he could worry about them, until he had to worry about his sister. Was that really the best option to follow at this point, or was the only point of that conversation to humour a twelve-year-old boy, who still had his innocence to hold onto? The only thing Will knew for certain, was that if he didn't make a decision soon, he would probably drive himself insane, worrying about what he should be doing with himself. Once everyone looked like they were mostly ready to get moving, Shane started to gather everyone up in front of the RV, ready to lay out the plan that he and Rick had probably discussed while everyone else was getting ready that morning.

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on Channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Everyone looked around at each other, waiting for someone to say something, until Morales stepped forward, glancing at his family before he spoke up.

"We're, uh…we're…we're not going," he told the group, surprising everyone present.

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," Eliza, Morales' wife, explained, with Shane only shaking his head in disagreement.

"You go you're on your own. You won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane informed them, looking to Rick for his support.

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family," Morales told him, turning his attention to Rick, who stared back at him seriously.

"You sure?" Rick asked, wanting to be sure they weren't making a mistake, which Will thought they were.

"We talked about it. We're sure." Morales replied, looking to his wife who nodded her head in agreement. That seemed to be enough for Rick, who knelt down to his bag of weapons, pulling out one of the guns and a box of ammo, which he handed to Shane, the pair of them walking over to offer them to Morales.

"Yeah. Box is half full," Shane informs them, handing over the box while Rick handed over the gun, Lori getting down off of a nearby car to come over and hug Eliza, while Rick and Shane shook Morales' hand. Will watched the exchange nearby, standing by himself as he saw all of the emotion being shared between all of group as they said their goodbyes and parted ways, moments that Will missed having himself, as Morales' family got into their own separate car. Soon, Shane announced that it was time for them to get moving, everyone heading off to their assigned vehicle, the only one not moving being Will, who wasn't told where he should go.

"Come join us in the RV," Glenn told him, gesturing from the doorway to come follow him inside, which Will gladly did. Once they had all taken off from the campsite, Will looked out the back window with Glenn, watching the Morales' drive in the opposite direction, shrinking the size of the group yet again. After that, Glenn moved back up to the front, leaving Will to wonder around as the RV drove along, deciding to sit down with Jacqui to help her with Jim until they arrived at their destination, whenever that may be. They continued to drive for what seemed like hours, just following road after road after road, until Will heard a loud noise from the front of the RV, sounding like it was breaking down, something he had heard a few too many times working in his uncle's mechanic. Soon, the RV rolled to a stop, Dale slamming his hands on the steering wheel, standing up to exit the vehicle while Glenn informed the rest of the group of the problem. Will left Jacqui to keep tending to Jim, leaving the room to head outside, the rest of the cars having already stopped, both Rick and Dale now standing in front of the smoking RV, discussing what to do next, with a few of the others nearby.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van," Dale told Rick, shaking his head at the smoke pouring out of the engine as Will moved to stand beside the pair.

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked, making Will chuckle, looking anywhere but at the two men when they gave him a strange look.

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape," Dale informed him, staring at the RV forlornly, turning his head to look at Will when he cleared his throat.

"I'm surprised you managed to keep it running this long, not every day you can just stick some duct tape on it and keep your fingers crossed it works," Will told him, confusing both Dale and Rick with his words.

"It's not like we have easy access to new parts. How would you know anything about this sort of thing anyway?" Dale questioned curiously, Rick seeming just as interested beside him.

"Well, I worked in my uncle's mechanic to earn a bit of money, he taught me a few things. Reckon I could probably fix this thing up, if I had the right stuff to fix it. I can't work miracles, but I could at least keep it running," Will informed them, the pair looking more surprised than they had before.

"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky. Could have what you need," Shane informed them from nearby, a pair of binoculars in his hands. Before anyone had a chance to speak up, Jacqui nearly fell out of the RV in her rush to get out, seeming to be quite frantic.

"Y'all, Jim, it's bad. I don't think he can take anymore," she informed the group, before heading back to the RV, everyone looking around at each other worriedly.

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back," Shane suggested, handing over his binoculars to T-Dog, who nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up," T-Dog told him, pulling the binoculars away from his eyes to hand bac to Shane.

"Do you want me to come along to?" Will asked, looking over to Shane, who only shook his head in reply.

"Stay here kid, help hold down the fort. The rest of y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back," Shane told the rest of the group, walking over to the nearby jeep with T-Dog, the pair getting in to prepare to drive away. Noticing Rick making his way over to the RV, Will decided he would make himself useful in another way, running over to join Rick.

"Need some backup sheriff?" Will asked, smiling sadly at Rick who returned it in the same fashion.

"Sounds good." After taking off his hat, the pair brace themselves before going back inside the RV, moving down to the room where Jim is lying down, looking weaker than when they left the campsite a few hours ago.

"We'll be back on the road soon," Rick informed him, standing aside so Will could move further into the RV, watching Jim closely.

"Oh no, Christ. My bones, my bones are like glass. Every little bump, God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. I want to be with my family," Jim told them, staring out the window, not being able to look Rick or Will in the eye.

"They're all dead. I don't think you know what you're asking. The fever, you've been delirious more often than not," Rick told Jim, looking to Will for assistance, who only shrugged his shoulders, not sure himself what to say to him.

"I know. Don't you think I know?" Jim snapped, pushing himself up from the bed, a groan escaping him as he sat up properly in his bed. "I'm clear now. In five minutes I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking. I want this. Leave me here. Now that's on me. Okay? My decision, not your failure."

"You're sure?" Rick asked him, glancing over at Will, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Jim the whole time he was speaking.

"I'm sure." With a nod of his head, Rick stood up from his seat and, after looking to Will, exited the RV, leaving Will alone with Jim.

"Stop looking at me like that, I know what I'm doing," Jim told him, sliding back down to lie on the bed again, turning to look at Will.

"You don't know what we're going to find when we get back to Atlanta, the CDC might still be up and running, you could get help," Will told him hopefully, taking up Rick's now vacant seat.

"Exactly, we don't know what we're going to find when we get there. For all we know, the CDC might be just as dead as the rest of the world. I just want to be with my family. Wouldn't you want to do the same?" Jim asked, a small smile reaching his face. Now that Will thought about it, he found himself agreeing with Jim a bit, wondering if he would want to be left behind if he had nothing else left to live for.

"You don't even want to know if you have a chance at living?" Will questioned him, having one last try at convincing him to keep going, knowing it was a losing battle.

"It's for the best," he replied with a smile, looking away from Will when Rick re-entered the van, just after the sound of a returning car could be heard. Will moved from his seat beside Jim and left the RV, going outside to help fix up the RV, so it wouldn't have any chance of breaking down again on their way to the CDC, doing the best he could with what he had. It wasn't long after Will and Dale had finished their work, that Rick and Shane had started to carry Jim out of the RV, bringing him off the side of the road and up a hill to rest him against a tree, which seemed to amuse him a little.

"Hey Jim, I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this," Shane told Jim, still holding hope that he might change his mind.

"No, it's good. The breeze feels nice," Jim told him, smiling at Shane who just nodded his head.

"Okay, all right," Shane sighed, stepping away to let Jacqui come up and talk to him. One by one, the group came up to Jim to say their goodbyes, with Rick even offering his gun for Jim to use, to end things quickly. No one seemed to truly believe that they were losing yet another person, after losing so many people barely twenty-four hours beforehand. After Daryl and Jim shared a silent moment of respect, the only person left standing in front of Jim was Will, the pair just staring at each other, not sure what words should be exchanged between the perfect strangers.

"I know we didn't know each other long, but it would've been nice to have the chance," Will told him with a smile, getting a weak smile from Jim in return.

"I agree; you remind me a little of my son, you and he would've gotten along famously. Take care of the others," Jim told him, coughing up a little blood into the dry leaves before he could look at Will again.

"Don't worry, I will." With that, Will turned away and went back down to the RV, kneeling down to give Jacqui's hand a comforting squeeze when he got to the bottom of the hill. After a quick thank you, they both got back into the RV and closed the door, all the cars starting up at the same time, continuing their trip to Atlanta, hopefully to find the CDC, somewhere they could finally be safe.

* * *

It seemed to take hours to finally reach Atlanta once again, everything seeming almost foreign to Will, even though it had only been two days since he had left behind the city of his childhood. All around were burned out vehicles, the undead roaming around absent-mindedly, starting a small shuffle towards the approaching group of vehicles coming towards them, the engines drawing their attention. They drove through the streets for at least another half an hour until they finally reach their destination, the CDC, the building itself looking practically untouched. All around were the bodies of the undead, looking like they had been sitting there for weeks, probably having lost their lives to the undead, and probably a few humans somewhere along the line. At least Rick had gotten one thing right, by the look of the barriers and of cars scattered around the place, the military had definitely decided to protect the CDC first, probably in the hopes it would be their best bet at somehow saving a world already long dead. Everyone stopped their cars on the side of the road and got out onto the side walk, all of them taking in the sight of the grounds around the CDC, a few people having trouble holding back the vomit that was probably forming in the back of their throats from the smell of the decaying bodies. Together, they moved forward, past the barriers and the bodies, making their way over to the CDC, keeping close together, just in case any of the bodies lying around were still alive, in an undead sense of the word. The closer they got to the front doors, the more bodies they found, and the stronger the smell became, making it hard for Will to breath as he stuck close to the Grimes family, Carl grabbing Will's hand at one point to keep him close. Soon, they had reached the front doors but, to their horror, metal doors had been closed over the glass ones, stopping any entry into the building. Shane and Rick started to bang and shake the metal doors but to no avail, not being able to see any means of entry from where they were currently standing.

"There's nobody," T-Dog said aloud, sounding defeated, just as much as Shane looked, without needing to say anything.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked no one in particular, looking around for something that might be able to get them inside. Before he had a chance to find anything, Will heard a distant groaning behind him and turned around to see what it was, fear filling his eyes as he saw what was approaching them.

"Walkers!" Will shouted to the group, everyone cowering back in fear as Daryl shot off an arrow at one nearby, sending it to the ground as Carl and Sophia gripped tightly to their respective mothers.

"You led us into a graveyard," Daryl snarled at Rick, turning on the sheriff angrily.

"He made a call," Dale said, trying to calm him down and defend Rick at the same time.

"It was the wrong damn call," Daryl snapped, turning to look further away from the group, where a few more walkers were starting to emerge seemingly from nowhere.

"Just shut up, you hear me? Shut up, shut up! Rick, this is a dead end," Shane said frantically, watching the walkers approaching fearfully.

"Where we gonna go?" Carol questioned, gripping onto her daughter tightly, turning with the rest of the group to look to Rick and Shane for their leadership.

"Do you hear me? No blame," Shane told Rick, shaking his head as he started to pace backwards and forwards anxiously.

"Carol's right. We can't be out here; we can't be this close to the city. It's already starting to get dark," Will told them, walking over to Rick, who just shook his head, trying to think of what to do.

"Fort Benning. Rick, it's still an option," Shane told Rick, roughly pushing past Will to talk to his friend, while the rest of the group started to become more frantic as the seconds passed by.

"On what, no food, no fuel. That's a hundred miles," Andrea snapped, the amount of walkers nearby growing as they wasted more and more time.

"One hundred and twenty-five. I checked the map," Glenn corrected her, getting a look from Will that told him he wasn't helping the situation.

"Forget Fort Benning, we need answers tonight. Now," Lori practically demanded, her attention torn between her husband and Carl beside her, who was whimpering in fear at the approaching walkers.

"We'll think of something," Rick reassured her, turning back to look up at the building. Having had enough, Shane started to gather everyone up to herd them back to the vehicles, hopefully avoiding as many walkers as they could on their way back. When Will noticed Rick wasn't following, he turned back around and grabbed him by the arm, trying to pull him away with little success.

"Come on Rick, we need to leave," he begged the man, noticing his gaze leading up to something above them on the wall.

"The camera, it moved," Rick told him, raising his voice loud enough so the whole group could hear his words.

"You imagined it," Dale told him, having turned back to look at the camera as well, neither he nor Will seeing what Rick saw.

"It moved," Rick maintained, moving closer to get a better look at the camera while Shane ran back over to him, getting close beside him.

"Rick, it is dead man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on," Shane insisted, grabbing Rick by the arm to drag him away, but Rick refused to budge an inch.

"Rick please, this place is gone, you have to listen to him. It's gone. You have to think about your family, there's nobody left inside," Will tried to convince him, grabbing his other arm, but Rick just pulled free, banging on the metal doors and getting closer to the camera, looking right into it.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," Rick said to the camera, glaring up at it and probably whoever he thought might be on the other end.

"Everybody get back to the cars now," Shane told the group once more, everyone not sure whether they should leave or listen to what Rick was saying, that there might actually be someone inside. Everything seemed to move into slow motion from that point on, between Rick's frantic cries at the camera, and both Lori and Shane trying to convince him to leave, Will wasn't sure if they were going to be able to get out of there alive, if they didn't leave now. Finally, Shane managed to grab Rick around the waist and pull him away from the doors, making him give up momentarily on the idea that there might be someone that might be able to save them. Just as everyone was about to start moving away from the building, a loud whirring noise was heard behind everyone, the area flooding with light as one of the metal doors slid up, confirming Rick's suspicions. Everyone stared into the light like they were staring through the gates of heaven, their salvation having finally arrived a little too late. All Will knew was, whatever was waiting for them on the other side, had to be better than what was waiting for them outside, anything looking better than the lifeless form the world had taken on, ever since the dead started to roam the earth. Now, they had a chance to live.

* * *

 **Here's the next chapter for you guys to read, sorry for taking so long, Uni started back up and it took me a while to get back into the swing of things, so I needed to focus on that, before I could do any real writing.**

 **The next episode is going to be spanning over quite a few chapters, I ended up putting in a lot more information than I had originally planned, so be prepared for some more backstory into Will's life, with some hints to how he ended up without his parents. Hopefully you guys are looking forward to reading them ^_^**

 **Please leave a review to tell me what you guys are thinking so far, I just like to get feedback on my writing and know what I'm writing is any good, any questions you may have would cool to hear about as well. I'm not going to be one of those people that won't post just because they won't get reviews, I hope to write and post them when I have time, but hearing from you guys would just make my day, I wouldn't be posting this stuff if I didn't want people to read it ^_^  
**

 **Love you guys, hope to hear from you soon ^_^  
**

 **Sneak Peek - TS-19:** _Having finally reached the CDC, Will thinks he may finally have a chance at survival._


	6. Chapter 6 - TS-19

_Vongola Primo12 **-**_ **I like stories like this as well, since a lot of the stuff I've been seeing OC wise just pairs up women with Daryl, and sometimes Rick, so I wanted to do something different, so I could have the evolution of a teenage boy into an adult survivor, especially with what his past going to be like once I finally get around to start expanding on it more when I start season 2. And thank you for the nice compliment, I'm just glad my writing style isn't as bad as it used to be ^_^**

 _C.E.W -_ **It does seem like that is the method to their madness when it comes to a zombie apocalypse doesn't it. But since you've seen the series, I'm sure you already know where things are heading, so it gives Will plenty of good moments to force himself into :P**

* * *

 _"Pass me a socket wrench" Will called from underneath a car, rolling out to collect the tool from a nearby man, before rolling under to continue his work. It was the first day Will was being trusted to fix a car by himself, every other time he had to be assisted by his uncle, or one of the other employees, but it was finally the day he could prove himself. To make the day even more significant, Will's uncle had left him and one of the other employees, Jonathan, in charge of the mechanic's while he was gone, giving Will a chance to learn what it will be like to take care of the place, when the day finally came for him to take over. If that's what he ended up wanting at least. Ever since leaving his sister behind in Atlanta, Will hadn't been able to stop thinking about Lucy ever since his arrival, almost missing how annoying she could be at times, missing how innocent she still was, after everything they had been through. Although he had been away from her for a little over six months already, they spoke on the phone almost every day, since Lucy didn't seem to be able to go a single day without telling her brother about her day, and about how much she was missing him. On the plus side, a holiday break wasn't far off, which meant that Lucy would be able to come up to Will to visit, so they could properly catch up in person, rather than having to rely on memory to remember each other. All Will knew was, if he didn't fix the car he was working on soon, or to a good standard, he had a feeling it would still be a while before he started to make any real money for himself._

 _"How's it going down there?" Jonathan asked Will, bending down to look in on Will, who rolled himself out, pulling his rag from his pocket to wipe his hands._

 _"I think that should hopefully do it. I think she should start up now," Will informed him, stowing away his rag in his pocket and walking around to the other side of the car, opening the driver side door when he arrived. He sat down on the seat and Jonathan passed him the keys, allowing him to insert them into the ignition and, after giving the key a quick turn, the beautiful sound of the engine roaring to life was heard, getting Will applause from all the other mechanics gathered._

 _"Not bad, not bad at all," Jonathan applauded, shaking Will's hand as he stepped out of the car, flashing Will a rare smile when he received a grin from his compliment._

 _"You mean not bad for a rookie right?" Will questioned with a laugh, throwing Jonathan the keys as he walked away, high fiving the other workers as he went, moving around to pack up his tool box._

 _"I'll admit you did a pretty good job for your first solo fix. When you stop asking for help from the rest of us, then maybe I'll start taking you seriously," Jonathan smirked, picking up the wrench Will had left lying on the floor, which Will graciously took from him._

 _"Just admit that you feel threatened by a teenager and you're afraid you'll lose your job to said teenager," Will laughed, closing up his toolbox and hefting it off the table, bringing it to the back room while Jonathan trailed behind him._

 _"The day I'm afraid of losing my job to a pipsqueak like you, is the day I see a pig flying by my window in the morning," Jonathan scoffed, following Will through to the back rooms, where Will dropped off his toolbox, before turning around to face Jonathan._

 _"Careful what you wish for," Will smirked, walking back outside to the front desk, where another employee holding a phone was gesturing him over, a solemn look on his face._

 _"It's for you," he said, handing the phone over to Will, who took it in confusion, placing it against his ear before he spoke._

 _"This is William Parker speaking," he said into the receiver, wondering who could be calling him, knowing it was too early for it to be Lucy._

 _"Hello Mr. Parker, I am Doctor Williams, I work at the local hospital. I'm afraid I have some bad news," the man on the other end replied, sending Will's heartbeat into slow motion._

 _"What happened?" he asked quietly, barely taking notice of Jonathan watching him from nearby, a worried look on his face._

 _"It's your uncle, he's been in a car accident. He's in surgery at the moment, but the situation doesn't seem to be getting better," the doctor informed Will, whose breathing had suddenly slowed down, the shock of the situation taking its time to sink in._

 _"I'll be right there," Will told him, hanging up the phone, before turning away to pick up his bag, his path being blocked by Jonathan before he could leave._

 _"What happened?" he asked, grabbing Will by the shoulders before he could try walking past again, trying his best to meet Will's worried gaze._

 _"It's my uncle, he was in a car accident. I have to get to him," Will told him, trying his best to get by again, only for Jonathan to stop him once more._

 _"I'll drive you, you're not going alone. Wait here, I'll bring the car around," Jonathan told him, letting go of Will to walk out of the room, leaving Will to his own thoughts while he waited for Jonathan to return. Will had hoped that his situation was finally starting to turn itself around, that he might finally be back to having a normal life once more, without having to worry about tragedy ever again. Yet, there he stood, having just been told that his uncle was about to die, and there was nothing he could do about it, nothing to change the outcome of a horrible accident. Why did it have to happened again? Why does this keeping happening to him? Why did he have to lose her?_

All Will could do after the door opened was stare into the bright white light, not being sure what he should do next, how he or the rest of the group should react, now that they might have a chance to get out of the unforgiving outside world. He only started to move his feet when Lori gave him a slight nudge, getting him to move forward with the rest of the group as they made their way inside cautiously, none of them being quite sure what to expect once they were inside.

"Hello?" Rick started to call out into the empty building, trying to gain the attention of who or whatever had let them inside. Once everyone had moved from outside and closed the door behind them, they took in just how clean and untouched everything look, having been undisturbed by the horror happening all around it in the outside world. Before Will had a chance to take a look around with the rest, Rick noticed something nearby and aimed his gun right at it, anyone else with a gun following suit as they looked into the nearby darkness. After a few seconds, a man stepped out into the light, a rifle in his hand, seeming to look normal, but there was something about the way the man stood that made Will wonder for his sanity. Will had been alone for a month and a half, ever since leaving behind the life he had with his uncle, but who knows how long the man in front of him had been alone in the building, the things he must've seen. All Will could hope for, all any of the group could hope for at that point, was that he was at least sane enough to not want to kill them on sight.

"Anybody infected?" he asked, keeping his gun trained on the group, his gaze shifting between each of the people in front of him.

"One of our group was, he didn't make it," Rick replied, the aim of his gun wavering a little, not sure whether he should consider the man a threat or not.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" the man questioned, slowly stepping forward more to be closer to the group, his caution of the group seeming to lower as he looked them over.

"A chance," Rick answered simply, an answer that didn't seem to convince the man very much, whose grip had tightened on his gun as he approached them.

"That's asking an awful lot these days," the man informed him, moving ever closer to the group, but not close enough that he might put his life in danger.

"I know." The man stopped in his tracks all of a sudden and started looking over the group, giving each of them a once over, before moving onto the next one, seeming to assess their health before he could make a good decision. After what seemed like forever, he took a few more steps forward, having seemed to come to a decision, one that Will hoped would benefit the group.

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission," he finally informed them, relief flooding throughout the group at his words, because they finally had a chance at some form of salvation.

"We can do that," Rick agreed, which seemed to satisfy the man enough that he lowered his gun, nodding his head to Rick, the pair sharing a look of respect.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed," he informed them, letting his gun hang at his side, no longer feeling threatened by the group before him. After Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn had run back to collect everyone's things, and had run back through the doors, Dale and T-Dog shut the doors behind them allowing the group to follow the man down the hall and into an elevator, where he stopped in front of a small electric box, pressing a button on the front.

"VI, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here," the man said into the box, before the door closed shut, allowing the elevator to start its descent into the building.

"Rick Grimes," Rick said to the man, offering his hand for a handshake, only for the man to look away, not being able to meet his gaze.

"Dr Edwin Jenner," he replied, gripping his gun close to his chest, looking a little uncomfortable amongst such a large amount of people. As the elevator slowly made its way to the group's destination, everyone stood around in an awkward silence, huddled together uncomfortably, none of them sure what they should say.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl questioned, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group, something Will was oddly thankful for, given what he and the others had been through over the past couple of days.

"There were plenty left lying around, I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you, I'll have to keep my eye on you," Jenner replied with a smile, aiming his last words at Carl, who smiled back at the man, before averting his gaze away from the man in embarrassment. Soon, the doors opened, and everyone stepped out into a very cramped hallway, following behind Jenner as he made his way towards a door further down the hall.

"Are we underground?" Carol questioned from beside Will, cautiously looking around at the walls and doors surrounding her, slight fear in her eyes.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner questioned, never breaking his stride as he moved forward, leaving some of the group struggling to keep up with him and the other taller people in the group.

"A little," Carol admitted, smiling at Sophia when she took a hold of her mother's hand to give it a comforting squeeze, reassuring her that they were going to be okay.

"Try not to think about it," Jenner called back, finally reaching a wide open door at the end of the hall, which led them out into a very large room. After Jenner called out to 'VI' again, the lights in the room suddenly lit up, illuminating everything in the room, showing the different computers right in the centre of everything, before he turned around, smiling at the group. "Welcome to Zone 5."

"Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?" Rick questioned, as they continued following Jenner to the centre of the room, where his stride started to falter a little after Rick's words.

"I'm it. It's just me here," Jenner informed them, turning to face the rest of the group from the centre of the computers scattered around the raised platform.

"What about the person you were speaking with? VI?" Lori questioned, not seeming to believe that they were alone in the building, or at least, not wanting to believe it.

"VI, say hello to our guests. Tell them… Welcome," Jenner called out into thin air, a response coming almost instantly.

"Hello, guests. Welcome," a robotic voice said, it's voice echoing through the room, coming from all around the group as they glanced around, trying to find the source of VI's voice.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry," Jenner repeated, turning around to start walking away again, leaving everyone to exchange worried glances. If Will was being perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't quite sure if he was upset over the fact that there was no one else there, or relieved that there wasn't. If there had been other people, then maybe there could've been a chance his sister had made there before him but, if there really was no one there, then he didn't need to meet any new people, the group he was already with being enough for him for now. Before the group went any further, Jenner led them to a smaller room, a lab, to take everyone's blood, wanting to make sure he hadn't let in anyone that might be infected, only wanting to be on the safe side. One by one, he took each of the group's blood samples, with Will not struggling as much as he would've thought, given the fact that, whenever he used to see a needle, he usually ended up being the one already collapsed on the floor. Will guessed seeing the undead and getting their blood all over him, helped him to find new things to be squeamish about. Soon, everyone was finished getting their blood taken, until all that remained was Andrea, the rest of the group standing nearby, waiting for the last of their group to be checked.

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever," Andrea pointed out to Jenner, who was focusing on making sure the needle went into a vein, not wanting to cause his patient too much discomfort.

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough," Jenner said, pressing the syringe into her arm, and then pulling it out again in a matter of seconds. After he had removed the syringe from her arm and cleared her to get moving, when Andrea tried to stand, she almost fell down again, needing Jacqui to support her before she fell to the ground. Once Jacqui had checked that Andrea was okay, and she had nodded her assent, Jacqui led her away, glancing at Jenner as she went.

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have," she informed him as she helped Andrea into a nearby seat, not noticing the look in Jenner's eyes when he heard her words. Before long, everyone was seated around a large table in the cafeteria, eating pasta, something that Will hadn't had in a very long time, while the adults drank wine, something Will had only ever done once in his life. While he ploughed through the food in front of him, Will took notice of how happy everyone looked, all of them seeming to have forgotten how many people they had lost over twenty-four hours ago, all of them laughing without a care in the world. If this was what wine did to unhappy people, Will was looking forward to one day being able to see what a happy person looked like drunk, knowing the sight of it would be twice as entertaining as it was then.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France," Dale informed the whole group, pulling Will out of his thoughts as he re-joined the conversation to a chorus of laughter at Dale's words.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then," Lori said seriously, taking a big gulp of her drink, making the others around her laugh, which made Will realise they'd probably laugh at almost anything anyone said.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on," Rick practically begged his wife, receiving more laughs from the group when Lori nodded her head to Dale, who started pouring wine into a glass for Carl to taste.

"There you are, young lad," Dale said, handed Carl his glass back so he could try the wine. Everyone watched him with bated breath, a few chuckles escaping them as Carl took a small sip of his drink, his face instantly going sour as the wine passed his lips.

"Eww," Carl groaned, shaking his head to try and get rid of the taste while the rest of the group started laughing, both of his parents seeming to be laughing the most.

"That's my boy. That's my boy. Good boy," Lori said absentmindedly as she poured Carl's drink into her own, probably having been waiting to add a little more to her own glass.

"Yuck. That tastes nasty," Carl said, making the whole table laugh a little louder at his words, which amused Will even more that they found any little thing overly hysterical, thanks to a few glasses of wine.

"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane chuckled, not looking like he was enjoying himself as much as the rest of the group, which didn't surprise Will at all if he was being perfectly honest.

"Not you, Glenn," Daryl called over to Glenn, who seemed reluctant to drink from the bottle currently in his hand.

"What?" Glenn asked innocently, seeming a little fearful, but not enough to overpower his amusement of the happy people sitting around the table.

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get," Daryl replied, even more laughs coming from around the table, before Will picked up a glass and offered it to Dale.

"My turn," Will smirked, the people around him quieting down after he handed Dale the glass, watching the teenager with slight interest. Before he started pouring, Dale glanced at the people around him, his eyes falling on Lori sitting at Will's right side, who started nodding her assent.

"It's fine, let him. But one glass, I don't want to be responsible for getting a teenager drunk," she told him seriously, making the group chuckle as Dale poured Will a glass and handed it over. After taking the glass, Will took a deep breath before taking a quick sip of the wine, the taste not seeming to be as bad as it had been when he was closer to Carl's age, actually tasting better than he had expected.

"So, what's the verdict kid?" Daryl questioned, asking the question that was probably on everyone's minds at that moment. Will glanced around the table at all the faces surrounding him, taking notice of their slightly red tinged faces, at the small smiles starting to form, all of them watching him with bated breath, before he finally decided to answer them.

"I've tasted stronger," Will replied, taking a larger gulp of his drink as the group fell back into laughing again, while all Daryl could do was shake his head in amusement.

"Looks like I had you pegged wrong kid," Daryl chuckled, pouring himself more alcohol, laughing a little more when Will gulped down all of his drink in two gulps.

"You and every other girl I dated, Redneck," Will smirked, the laughter continuing from the group, while Carl and Sophia had confused looks on their faces, which only made the adults laugh harder. While everyone continued laughing and having an all-around good time, and Dale sneakily poured Will another glass of wine, Rick stood up from his seat and tapped his glass, quieting the group down to a slight murmur, turning their attention to Rick, as he raised his glass to Jenner.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly," Rick announced to the group, everyone lifting their glasses in agreement with his words.

"He is more than just our host," T-Dog agreed, raising his glass with the rest of the group, while Will took a small sip of his freshly filled glass before raising it with the rest.

"He's also our saviour. And provider of wine," Will grinned, his smile vanishing when Lori snatched the glass out of his hand and gave him a glass of water, which he reluctantly accepted from her, while everyone else toasted to Jenner.

"Hear!"

"Here's to you, Doc, booyah!

"Booyah!"

"Thank you. Thank you, Doctor," Rick said amongst the cheering of the group, everyone clinking their glasses together, toasting their drinks to Jenner one more time before downing most of their drinks.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc? All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" Shane asked Jenner, bringing everyone down into silence once more, smiles disappearing one by one as they turned to look at Jenner.

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now," Rick told his friend before placing his glass back on the table and sitting in his seat, only for Shane to continue on from Rick's words.

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him. Found one man, why?" Shane questioned, not looking to give up on his line of questioning anytime soon.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted," Jenner informed the group, shifting their attention back to him and away from Shane.

"Every last one?" Shane asked, his face falling a little when Jenner started to shake his head.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They… opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time," Jenner replied, making a dark cloud suddenly start to hang over the group, ruining everyone's previously happy moods.

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea questioned, managing to get a small smile out of Jenner, which only last for a few seconds before he gave her an answer.

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good," he answered, sending the group back into silence again, before Glenn turned to look at Shane, swaying a little on the spot as he walked over to join the table.

"Dude, you are such a buzz kill, man," Glenn told Shane, saying what everyone else was thinking.

* * *

 **Here we are, the first chapter of the last episode of season 1 :D (even if I have only written from ep4 .)**

 **I've been really looking forward to these chapters, some them have some of my favourite moments to write for, especially the next chapter for some reason, I just really enjoyed writing it. I wasn't planning on writing Will into the part that I did but, when I came around to it, it kind of felt right to do it, so sorry if anyone feels it's a little too force or something, but I do kind of like it either way ^_^**

 **Don't forget to leave a review when you get a chance, and even a fav/follow if you want to stay up to date with my story, because I am really enjoying writing this :D (so much so that my other stories are probably going on the back burner for a while).**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and are ready for the next one, can't wait to hear from you guys ^_^**

 **Sneak Peek: Chapter 7 - When a Man Loves a Woman -** Just as Will finds himself settling into the group's new safe haven, a lover's quarrel might throw his thoughts of safety and security through a loop.

 **P.S - Like I've been doing for this chapter and the last, I plan to address any reviews for each chapter at the start of the next one, so I can make sure you guys feel involved in this story and just as invested as I am in it.**


	7. Chapter 7 - When a Man Loves a Woman

_C.E.W_ **\- Well that part of the episode doesn't come until chapter 9, I've written a lot more for this episode then I had originally planned, and as for the lover's quarrel, you're almost right, you'll just have to have a read to find out ;)**

 _thewalkerinme_ **\- Thank you so much ^_^ I like to think that his parents brought him up right, and having his younger sister around kind of helped with the politeness as well, always wanting to be a good role model to her and stuff like that ^_^ I definitely have different plans for the turmoil he's going to have to face, some of it as a part of the show, and some of it I insert in myself, but that will come along later ;)**

 **And now, onto the next chapter. Hopefully you guys like this one...**

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Not long after everyone had finished eating their pasta, and finishing off the wine that had been placed in front of them, everyone gathered up their things and left the cafeteria to follow Jenner again. Soon, they were walking into what Jenner had told them was a living area, where the scientists would usually stay if they needed to stay overnight during work hours.

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies: if you shower, go easy on the hot water," Jenner informed the group, catching everyone's attention with the last thing he said, as he walked away, Glenn turning around to look at the rest of the group excitedly.

"Hot water?" he asked rhetorically, smiling back at the rest of the group, whose grins were equally as big as his, the corners of his mouth stretching out quite far.

"That's what the man said," T-Dog replied, he and Glenn both laughing as they rushed into some nearby rooms, the rest of the group moving to their own, while Lori stopped Will before he started going anywhere, quickly pulling her hand away from his shoulder when she did so.

"Did you want to stay in our room tonight? It's always good having people nearby when you sleep," Lori suggested, which made Will smile, but he shook his head at her offer, knowing that now wasn't the right time to start pushing too many boundaries just yet.

"I'll be fine in my own room, don't worry. I've gotten used to being alone," he informed her, heading off to one of the free shower rooms and closing the door behind him, any noise from the outside being blocked out almost instantly. After leaning against the door for a few minutes, Will dropped his bag to the ground and started to strip off everything he was wearing, not wasting anytime, before he walked into the shower, turning on the hot water, getting instant relief as it started trickling down his back. Will had to admit, he couldn't remember the last time he had had a real shower, at least one that hadn't been from a bucket full of rain water, something he used to do to try and stay clean where possible when he was still in Atlanta. The last time he remembered having a real shower was after his uncle's accident, having not showered for three days since, Jonathan had forced him to have one, since he had been watching over Will while his uncle was in the hospital. Although he knew at the time that his uncle was still alive and might make it out of his coma, Will had never cried at the possibility of losing his uncle until he was standing under a hot shower, the full force of what had happened finally being clear in his mind in those few quiet minutes.

Somehow, without even realising it, the same thing seemed to be happening to Will in present day, tears rolling down his face as he started to realise that he might never see his family again. As much as he tried to keep on a brave face in front of everyone around him, whenever Will found himself with enough time to be alone, that was usually when he started to let his emotions run rampant. Especially with this new group of people, a group he had only been with for a little over a day, Will knew that he could never show any weakness in front of them, not wanting to be seen as just another weak child that needed protection from the world around him. It took him way too long to convince his uncle and the workers at the mechanic to stop treating him like a child, and he wasn't ready to let someone else treat him in the same way all over again. Although he didn't want to be a child again, Will started to think about how nice Lori had been to him, how motherly she had been, and then how fatherly Rick had started acting towards him. Even the rest of the group, who barely knew him, were already starting to warm up to him, welcoming him into their family without another thought about it. If he really was going to stay with this group, then he needed to feel a part of it, not separate himself fully from the group, allow himself to integrate as he grew closer to them.

The question was, would he last that long?

Not wanting to waste all the hot water, after standing under the shower head for another minute, Will turned off the water and stepped out, picking up a towel to dry himself off, and got back into his old clothes, walking over to the nearby mirror to look at himself. The first thing Will thought of when he saw himself in the mirror, was how thankful he was that he didn't grow facial hair very fast, having only developed a five o'clock shadow since his last shave a few weeks ago, the beginnings of a moustache starting to form on his upper lip. As he turned away to get dressed, Will noticed that there was a shaver on the side of the sink, picking it up to examine when he heard a knock at the door, turning around to see Carol, seeing a flash of her grey hair from the other side of the door in through the mirror in front of him.

"Everything good in here?" she asked, keeping her face turned away from Will, just in case she had walked into the room at the wrong time.

"If by that you mean, am I decent? Then yes, I am," Will chuckled, turning fully to face Carol who turned herself around, noticing the razor still in Will's hand.

"Have you ever used one of those before?" she questioned, smiling at Will when he shook his head, chuckling himself, a red tinge coming to his cheeks, hating to admit his inadequacy.

"I've only ever used an electric one. My uncle never really had a chance to teach me how to use a real one, he was always too busy with work or sleeping to help me," Will told her, noticing Carol's smile fade a little at his words, Will thinking he knew what her next question was going to be.

"What about your father? Couldn't he have taught you?" she questioned cautiously, not seeming sure if she should be asking Will what she was, having to wait a few seconds before Will gave her an answer.

"I lost both of my parents before the outbreak, back when all I had to worry about was whether I was going to make it into high school or not," Will told her with a sad smile, altering the truth for his own benefit, not ready for anyone to know the full story of what happened to his family. After giving Will a sad but motherly smile, Carol stepped back out into the hall and looked down both directions, noticing someone further down the right side.

"Dale, get yourself in here and teach this boy how to shave with a razor," she shouted to Dale, who appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, appearing seemingly out of thin air.

"Did I hear someone needs help with a shave?" he asked with a warm smile, nodding to Carol as he stepped in to stand beside Will, taking the shaver out of his hand as he did.

"That would be greatly appreciated," Will smiled, mouthing a thank you to Carol as she stepped out of the room, a smile on her face, leaving Dale to teach Will the ups and downs of how to use what he called 'a real man's shaver'. Once Dale had helped Will use the shave properly, Will made his way over to one of the unoccupied rooms, finding a fresh set of pyjamas for him to wear, which he quickly changed into, having been wearing the same clothes for who knows how long now. Once he was clothed in his new, warm, soft, flannelette… in his new pyjamas, Will left his room and made his way over to the rec room, finding that Carol, Sophia and Carl were already there, the latter two having a game of checkers, while Carol read a book on the couch, everyone seeming to look relaxed for the first time in a long while.

"You're looking fresher already," Carol smiled, looking away from her book when she noticed Will walking into the room, receiving a smile in return.

"I definitely feel fresh and clean too," Will admitted with a laugh, subtly pointing to the small pieces of toilet paper placed on his face, small red dots being seen underneath, which made Carol laugh as well. After realising just how many books were in the room, Will walked over to look at the books on the far wall first, skimming through them to find something he could read for the night before he slept, hopefully like a baby, for the first time in who knows how long.

"Do you want to play checkers with us? You can play the winner," Carl offered with a smile, moving one of his pieces forward while Sophia stared at the board, deep in thought, as if she were carefully planning out some form of tactical response.

"I don't think I'd be good enough to play you guys, I'd lose in matter of minutes," Will told them with a smirk, making the two children giggle as they went back to their game, leaving Will to continue his search. As Will continued looking through the shelves, having already found himself a bible for later use, Lori stepped into the room with yet another glass of wine, smiling at the group gathered by the couches as she looked around the rest of the rest of the room.

"Any good books?" she asked, looking between Carol and Will, both of them nodding their heads in assent, Carol being the only one to look up at Lori while Will continued browsing through the books.

"Uh-huh, enough to keep us busy for years. All right. Come on, kids, it's bed time," Carol told Carl and Sophia, the pair reluctantly standing up to leave, while Lori made her way over to the bookshelf.

"Baby, go say your prayers. I'm gonna browse a bit," Lori told her son, swaying a little on her feet as she walked, seeming like she might tip over at any moment, which made Will smile a little.

"This is the first night we might actually get some real sleep. It's a real miracle, isn't it?" Carol said aloud, smiling down at the two children as she left the room with the kids, leaving Will and Lori alone in the rec room, browsing through the book collection in silence.

"Find anything good?" Lori asked Will, walking over to walk beside him as he looked through the books, her words slurring a little as she spoke.

"Well, I was thinking about reading World War Z, but I thought that might be in bad taste, so I'll just read Charlotte's Web instead," Will told her, trying to keep a serious face as he pulled out the book, making Lori laugh, which almost made her keel over, if not for Will grabbing her arm to steady her.

"A very good choice," she chuckled, taking a sip of her wine as her finger skimmed across the books on the shelf in front of her absent-mindedly, the contents of the glass swaying in time with her motions.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Will asked Lori, pulling her attention away from the books to focus on him, even if that focus was hard to have, given the amount of alcohol currently in her system.

"Of course," she replied with a smile, taking a sip of her wine as she watched Will closely, waiting for him to ask about whatever it was he wanted to know.

"Why have you been so nice to me, someone you barely know? First you were willing to talk to me back at the camp, not minding I was a stranger to you. Then you trusted me to walk your son back to camp, even if it was only a minute's walk away. And before, you offered to have me in your room, with your family, like it was nothing. I guess I just want to understand; how can you treat a perfect stranger with such kindness?" Will questioned, his words seeming to be a bit more serious than Lori had expected them to be, her smile fading a little to match how serious the teenage boy in front of her currently looked.

"It wasn't really that much, just a few words here and there, it wasn't anything too major. If I'm being honest, I guess my motherly instincts kicked in," Lori admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, seeming like all of what she had been doing since Will's arrival seem like something trivial.

"Aren't your motherly instincts being worked hard enough taking care of your own son? How can you have the time to worry about some strange teen that your husband found on the side of the road, when you have a twelve-year-old who needs a lot of attention, especially in the world we are living in?" Will asked, having not had the chance to see what a mother is since his own mother, who he hadn't seen in a very long time, his memories not popping up in his mind as often as they used to.

"I guess it's just something a mother develops. She develops the need to take care of other people's children, as well as her own, when they don't have anyone to be their parents. Because everyone, even teenage boys from Atlanta, need parents. Besides, all I've done so far is treat a stranger kindly, it's not like I've been treating you like my child, no one has," Lori pointed out, going back to looking at books, while Will remained serious beside her, not sure how he should be taking her words.

"When I tried having a second glass of wine, you stole the glass from my hand and gave me water," Will retorted, getting Lori to look back at him, a small smile appearing on his face for a split second, only to disappear again when Lori met his eyes.

"I'd like to think I was doing your folks a favour, and taking care of their child. As I said, it's what any mother would do," Lori smiled, finally managing to get Will to smile again, feeling like the need to be serious had long gone, finally feeling somewhat comfortable, or at least more so than before, in the woman's presence.

"Well, thanks I guess. For being kind to a perfect stranger," Will said, turning back to look at the books once more, starting to feel a little awkward, no matter how comfortable he currently was.

"My pleasure," Lori said, hiding a small smile as the pair continued looking at books, not noticing the person entering the room behind them. As they both found something else of interest to them, a nearby door slammed, nearly making Will and Lori jump out of their skin, turning around to see Shane, looking drunk out of his mind.

"Jesus, you scared me," Lori said, holding her chest tightly, waiting for her heartbeat to slow down, which Will was doing beside her, feeling like his heart could beat out of his chest at any second.

"You're telling me," Will agreed, not liking the look Shane had in his eye as he stared at the pair in front of him, looking a little glazed over, thanks to a mixture of sleep deprivation and alcohol no doubt.

"Beat it kid, I need to talk to her alone," Shane snapped, gesturing for Will to leave the room through the door Carol and the kids had exited through, but Will was reluctant to listen to him.

"Or you could go to bed and sleep off the alcohol that is probably going to make you say a lot of stupid things?" Will suggested, getting a glare from Shane as he walked towards the pair, stumbling a little as he grew closer and closer.

"I said beat it," Shane growled, tipping a little to the side as he approached Will and Lori, managing to regain his footing a few seconds after.

"Now is not the time. I think Will is right, we should all go to bed," Lori said, walking away with Will not far behind, only for Shane to block the former from leaving the room, refusing to give up on whatever it was he had set out to do.

"How can you treat me like this?" Shane asked her, taking a swig of his drink, not looking like he was going to be moving anytime soon, a fact that was starting to worry Will more than it should.

"You're kidding, right?" Lori scoffed, glancing worriedly at Will, who wasn't ready to leave the pair alone, not liking where the conversation could lead to next.

"No. Huh-uh," Shane mumbled, swaying on his feet, probably way to intoxicated to know what he was doing at that very moment which meant he was going to be regretting quite a lot in the morning.

"Can we not have this conversation in front of a teenager," Lori snapped, walking around Shane to get to the door, while Shane quickly followed behind her, along with Will, who was not far behind both of them.

"Why don't we, it's not like he'd be stupid enough to tell anyone anyway. Wouldn't want to get himself kicked out of the group," Shane spat angrily at Lori, while managing to passive aggressively threaten Will into secrecy, moving to the door and slamming it shut before Lori could leave.

"You told me my husband was dead," Lori snapped, her anger seeming to make her forget momentarily that Will was standing right next to her, having become fed up with Shane.

"Jesus, Lori. I didn't lie to you, all right? I didn't. Do you know what it was like there? Huh? Things were falling apart. They were slaughtering people in the hallways. It was a massacre. There were walkers everywhere," Shane explained, getting uncomfortably close to Lori who backed away a little, unconsciously moving closer to Will nearby.

"So you left him?" Lori questioned accusingly, glaring at Shane, who started to become more apologetic by the second, his anger fading away.

"Everybody else ran. There were no doctors there. It was just me. He was hooked up to machines and I did not know what to do. I even took my ear and I put it on his chest and I listened for a heartbeat and I did not hear one. And I-I-I-I… I don't know why. Maybe it was gunfire. I don't know what it was, but there was no way he could've survived that. No way," Shane maintained, hitting the door behind him in his frustration, making Will and Lori jump out of their skins once more.

"He did," Lori said simply, having calmed down enough to realise Will was still with them, having completely forgotten he was there for those few moments of conversation.

"Yeah, but then I had y'all to think about, didn't I? I had you and Carl, and I needed to think about…" Shane started to ramble, grabbing Lori by the shoulders, and pushing her back, until she was sitting on a table he forced her onto.

"Hey, stop that," Will snapped, moving to help Lori, only for Will to be shoved away without a second thought from Shane, who was holding his focus on Lori.

"You stay out of this, punk. I had to get you guys safe to Atlanta. That's what I had to do. If you thought for one second that he was still alive, would you have come? So I saved your life, you and your little boy's. That's what I did. Right?" Shane asked Lori, leaving Lori speechless enough for her only to shake her head in reply, not sure how she could respond to the things Shane was saying.

"Shane, you need to stop," Will tried again, grabbing his shoulder tightly, only to be roughly pushed away once more, being ignored by Shane, who was refusing to give up on his current line of thought.

"And if I could've traded places with him, I would have. I would trade places with him right now because…" Shane tried saying again, ignoring Lori as she tried pushing away from, while Shane refused to let her budge, pushing her back every time she tried to get past him. No matter how hard Will tried to get Shane off of her, he refused to budge, shrugging Will off every time Will tried grabbing at him.

"I love you," Shane finally said through all of his ramblings, catching Will of guard for a few seconds, making him freeze in place, not believing what he had heard.

"No, you're drunk," Lori insisted, trying her best to push past Shane, but with little success, only managing to get shoved back rougher than Shane had probably wanted to.

"And I know there were some things that say that you love me, too. Because there's no way that you could've been with me the way that you were," Shane continued on, grabbing Lori by the chin, to stop her looking anywhere but at him, only for Lori to try fighting harder to get away, refusing to listen to his words any longer.

"Shane. Shane. Shane!" Lori started to shout, which seemed to pull Will out of his momentary revere, going back to trying to help Lori, trying to be a bit more forceful then he was being last time.

"Just… Okay, Stop. Listen. You love me," Shane maintained, forcing himself even more onto Lori, who could do nothing to get away from Shane, leaving Will to take some drastic measures, to do something he wasn't used to doing. Without even thinking, Will managed to get the strength to pull Shane away from Lori and punch him in the face, seeming him reeling back a little, probably more from surprise then from the strength behind Will's fist. After being momentarily stunned by Will's punch to the face, Shane retaliated instantly, punching Will square in the jaw, sending flailing to the ground, hitting the solid floor hard, having the wind knocked out of him in the process. Before Shane had a chance to go back to abusing Lori, as soon as he turned around to face her, she slapped him in the face, nails first, scratching him across the cheek, knocking him back a little in surprise once more. Seeming to have snapped out of his momentary madness, Shane turned around to the door and, after pounding his fist against the wall, he walked out and slammed the door behind him, leaving Lori to rush to Will's side, helping him back to his feet, supporting him a little when his legs started feeling like jelly.

"Are you okay?" she asked through quiet sobs, looking over Will's already bruising jaw, only for Will to push her hand away, shaking his head at her question.

"Forget about me, I'll be fine, I've had worse, it'll just be bruised for a while. Are you okay?" he asked, caring more about her safety rather than his own health for the time being, knowing what she had been going through was a whole lot worse. In response, her sobbing became stronger, tears rolling down her cheeks as she collapsed forward into Will's arms, allowing him to hold her close as she cried into his shoulder, staining his shirt with her tears, as he tried his best to comfort her.

* * *

 **And here it is, the next chapter, one I actually really enjoyed writing.**

 **Originally, I didn't plan on writing Will into this scene, instead I was just going to have him be shooed away to his room to go read and sleep. Then I started to think about his character, and the interactions he's already had with Lori, and I thought it would make sense for him to want to protect her, especially if there is a chance she may be reminding him of his own mother in some way, shape or form. Hopefully you guys don't think it feels too forced ^_^**

 **Hopefully you guys will be able to give me your thoughts, I would very much like to here them, it's the readers that make stories get better as they go along. I want this to be the best series I have ever written, and will ever write, on this site :D**

 **Hope to here from you guys soon, have a great day ^_^**

 **Sneak Peek: Chapter 8 - Science Experiment -** After the disagreement from the night before, Will hopes that the new day will bring something to reassure him that things are going to start getting better soon. Unfortunately, Dr Jenner reveals something that will bring this hope crashing down to the ground, leaving Will to wonder how the situation could become bleaker than it already is.


End file.
